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Key words: Aboriginal, housing, urban, self-determination, planning
Department of Geography
Queen's University
The number of Aboriginal people living in Canadian cities is increasing, and this trend presents some exciting opportunities for economic and cultural growth and diversification in urban Canada. Compared with the non-Aboriginal population, however, urban Aboriginal people face some very acute cultural, social, and economic challenges. Education levels tend to be lower, unemployment rates higher, and incomes are on average lower than those of non-Aboriginal people (Hanselmann 2001).
The present affordable housing crisis in urban Canada is very evident within the Aboriginal population (Ark Research Associates 1996). The majority of Aboriginal households in Canada reside in urban areas (Hanselmann 2001), and most live in rented accommodation. A significant proportion of this housing is inadequate and not affordable. The number of Aboriginal households living in core housing need is over three times higher than the number of non-Aboriginal households (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation 1998). Aboriginal homelessness in major urban areas ranges from 20 to 50 percent of the total homeless population (Canada, Privy Council Office 2002 as cited in Graham and Peters 2002). Aboriginal households may reflect different cultural values that affect the composition of the household (Ark Research Associates 1996; Peters 1984) and the design of housing developments (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation 1995). Culturally appropriate housing is seen as being of great importance to the social, cultural, and economic strength of Aboriginal peoples in urban areas (Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples 1996[Symbol Not Transcribed]).
For planners working in the field of low-cost housing(1) production in Canada's urban areas, this might be considered an exciting time. The federal and many provincial governments have made new commitments to low-cost housing production. Many municipal governments are also finding ways to engage in the low-cost housing initiatives to address these problems that most immediately affect them (Pomeroy 1999).
Even though Aboriginal people are among the worst afflicted by the shortage of affordable housing in urban areas, it is not clear how governments plan to bear this population in mind as new national and provincial affordable housing programs are designed and implemented. It is important that planners reflect upon the reasons why it is necessary to properly engage the urban Aboriginal constituency in these processes.
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