The Degradation of Our Downtown Core

During the Covid pandemic, we have seen repeated news stories of crime in Vancouver’s downtown core escalating. Last week, there was a story about the IGA grocery store getting hit with violent thieves multiple times a day, to the point where the staff took it upon themselves to fight back and pin down a customer until police arrived. Police admit that they are struggling mightily to keep up daily with the number of calls for robbery, assault, break-ins, drug overdoses and worse. It seems that the downtown core is in a state of rapid degradation.

Homeless encampments have grown exponentially within the city, the biggest one in Strathcona Park is frequently making the news, as the division between rich and poor plays out on the residents’ front doorsteps. Several people have died at the camp already and there’s a level of distrust for police that makes every interaction more challenging. Somehow the local drug dealers have stooped even lower than usual by cutting their supply with more fentanyl, stretching our ambulance services to their limit and killing five users a day in this province. It is a bleak situation.

 Adding to the dissolution of the city is the very real phenomenon called work-from-home. Many office towers are nearly empty, with perhaps a skeleton crew of executives going in to manage Zoom meetings and assign tasks. It must feel like a ghost town to those who are braving the commute, but parking options must be better than ever.

 City Hall seems to be reeling from the fallout of the pandemic. Budgets flew out the window a long time ago, as big cities everywhere are reporting multi-million dollar deficits. The city is trying to set up more indoor shelter spaces as fast as they can, but it has been a losing battle, as winter turns to spring. One or two drug testing sites have been created, so users can check if their supply is safe before injecting, if they are able to get there. Every time the mayor appears on the news, he sounds completely overwhelmed.

So what is to become of our fair city after everyone gets their vaccines? Will the downtown core re-populate with busy workers bustling along and boarded up coffee shops and restaurants welcoming them back to a pre-pandemic normalcy? Will people still want to work from home or do they miss the interaction with coworkers and want to get back into the office environment? Will the homelessness agenda stay at the forefront of city planning, or will people disperse from the parks and be forgotten as the weather improves?

 What are your predictions or personal preferences for city life post-pandemic? Please share any thoughts below.