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The Little Mountain low-rental housing project : a survey of its welfare aspects (Vancouver, 1955-58)

University of British Columbia

The Little Mountain Housing Project is not only the first unit of publicly-owned family housing in Vancouver, but one of the first examples of low-rental housing which is not directly slum-clearance rehousing (i.e., it is built on a new site, not a cleared downtown area). The socio-economic circumstances of the first applicants for this housing, and their policy implications, have already been the subject of an analytical study (thesis by Mr. Michael Wheeler: Evaluating the Need for Low-Renatl Housing). The present study follows this up by surveying the population of the Project after four years of operation. This survey is directed particularly to family welfare, recreation, social interests, the relation of the Project to the surrounding community, and the administrative implications of all of these. A series of structured interviews was organized with a sample of tenants who represented proportionally the types of families ("complete" families, "broken" families, and pension couples) and main income-groups of the total Project population. An overall statistical framework was derived from registration files of the Vancouver Housing Authority. Most of the families were found to be generally satisfied with their accommodation, but reactions were invited on a wide range of subjects to assess the significance of better housing for parents and children. Among deficiencies in the Project, that of appropriate meeting-places for both Project and community activity came continuously to the fore. Implications of this study, discussed in two concluding chapters, include (a) reactions and suggestions on improvements, (b) the steady incidence of welfare problems, and (c) the possible contributions of social workers in low-rental housing projects.

Thesis/Dissertation

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0106190

Master of Social Work - MSW

Arts, Faculty of; Social Work, School of

UBCV

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