Exhaustive Notes on Housing and Homelessness

Housing as a Commodity: Current housing models treat housing as a market commodity rather than a fundamental human right.
Affordability Crisis: The housing crisis in Canada is fundamentally characterized as an affordability crisis. This is driven by two primary factors:
- Increasing Housing Costs: The cost of purchasing or renting homes continues to rise significantly.
- Stagnant Wages: Earnings for the average worker have not kept pace with the rising costs of living and housing.
Housing Supply: There is a documented issue regarding the available supply of housing units to meet demand.

Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) Housing: Data from Toronto (based on $2025$ statistics) reveals extreme wait times for individuals seeking subsidized housing units. The average time on a waitlist varies by the size of the unit and the demographic:
- Studio (Senior): $10$ years.
- Studio: $12$ years.
- 1-bedroom: $14$ years.
- 2-bedroom: $12$ years.
- 3+-bedroom: $15$ years.

The Official Definition (Gaetz et al., 2012): ‐Homelessness describes the situation of an individual or family without stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it.‐
Root Causes and Contributors: Homelessness is not merely a personal failure but the result of various systemic and individual factors:
- Systemic or Societal Barriers: Structural failures in the economy or social safety nets.
- Lack of Affordable and Appropriate Housing: A shortage of accessible living spaces.
- Individual/Household Challenges: These may includes financial, mental, cognitive, behavioral, or physical challenges.
- Racism and Discrimination: Marginalized groups face higher barriers to securing housing.

Unsheltered: Individuals living without any form of housing or emergency shelter, with the exception of seeking shelter during extreme weather events.
Emergency Sheltered: Individuals who are currently accessing emergency shelter supports.
Provisionally Accommodated: People who have temporary accommodation but no established pathway to a permanent housing solution.
At Risk of Homelessness: Individuals who currently have access to housing, but that housing is considered insecure or unstable.

Definition: Often referred to as "hostile architecture" or "defensive architecture."
Function: These are design elements in the built environment intended to restrict the use of public space and specifically dissuade people from using those spaces for long-term activities like sleeping or sitting.
Mapping Defense: Collaborative projects like "DefensiveTO" map these architectural interventions throughout the city of Toronto.

Community Living: Specifically associated with (Intellectually/Developmentally) disabled people living in and amongst the non-disabled community rather than in segregated settings.
Independent Living: A movement seeking access to full independence in all aspects of life, primarily associated with (Physically) disabled people.

Deinstitutionalization Context: Historically, "mad people" were moved out of large-scale asylums (deinstitutionalization). However, this was not accompanied by a corresponding investment in community-based supports.
The Cycle of Homelessness: The lack of support leads to a recurring cycle of homelessness and ongoing pathologizing of the individual.
Shelter Dynamics: Research suggests that modern emergency shelters often reproduce the same institutional dynamics found in old asylums, effectively becoming the ‐modern day asylum.‐
Critical Question: How can we understand the "modern day asylum" concept alongside the disproportionately high rates of Indigenous homelessness in Canada?

Research Perspective: Dickson and Linton ( $2025$ ) argue that systemic ableism "haunts" housing policies related to Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).
The Logics of Housing Policy:
- Logic of Exclusion: The persistence of institutional power dynamics even within community living settings.
- Logic of Elimination: The ongoing influence of eugenic ideology in how housing and care are structured.
- Logic of Extraction: The influence of a profit motive within the housing and care sectors.

Quiz #6: To be held from Wednesday, July $22$ at $12:01$ am until Friday, July $24$ at $11:59$ pm. The content will focus exclusively on Housing and Homelessness.
Final Paper: Students who have not yet submitted must request an extension immediately. The final cut-off date for all late work is August $3$ , $2026$ .
Contact Information: Students experiencing extenuating circumstances that will prevent submission by the final deadline are instructed to email the instructor as soon as possible.