Got Questions? So Do We!

These Recommended Resources Will Help YOU Learn About People-Oriented Places, Land Use Rules, and the Housing Crisis

We’re going to post a lot of resources here for you to learn from, engage with, and share with your networks as we advocate for good change in Delta.

Want to write an article or share something that can go in this section? Please get in touch!

The Challenges We Face

Crippling Housing Costs

We see friends, family, and coworkers priced out of our area because we have a severe housing shortage.

Barriers to increasing housing supply are driving up costs and limiting the number of people who can live in Delta.

Climate Change Adaptation

We are faced with a climate crisis that will worsen in coming decades.

We need denser neighbourhoods to reduce urban sprawl, reduce water usage, use energy more efficiently, and create a smaller carbon footprint.

Workforce Housing Shortages

Our businesses, non-profits, and essential services struggle to retain employees due to the high costs of housing in comparison with other municipalities.

Addressing our housing shortage increases access to jobs, supports diverse businesses, promotes innovation, and enables people to be more productive.

Auto-dependency

Ingrained assumptions about the primacy of the personal automobile have created major barriers to accessibility. It should not be so hard to live here without the daily use of a personal vehicle.

Adding people to all our neighbourhoods will encourage more walking and biking, make transit more efficient, reduce social isolation, and increase residents’ access to diverse cultural products and to each other.

Opposition to Housing

Opposition to housing is fiercest when residents face change with a mindset of fear, uncertainty, and protectionism.

We must demonstrate the necessity of adding more housing in every neighbourhood — especially high-income neighbourhoods.

Moving Towards a Solution

It's (Mainly) A Matter of Policy

City-wide rules and policies are the basic building blocks for our current housing and land-use decision-making process. The specific projects that come to City Council are a part of the bigger whole and yet they have symbolic and practical value in moving us toward a more diverse and affordable supply of housing in Delta. The City of Delta’s Housing Action Plan contains a clear outline of what can be done – now we need to press to see its implementation!

We need Better Land-Use Practices

Nearly every housing-related decision in Delta is connected to land-use regulations.

Del-POP will be actively engaged in zoning and land-use consultations, public hearings, and advocacy efforts to pass land-use policies and approve projects.

This includes strategies for mitigating harm to ecologically sensitive areas, addressing transportation network issues, accommodating population growth with well-placed civic, recreational, commercial, and industrial facilities, and making sure that Delta’s financial outlook improves as a result of better land-use practices.

"It is important to note that it does not display a NIMBY (“not in my backyard”) disposition to simply voice concerns about issues such as parking, traffic, and shadows; indeed, local residents should have their concerns respectfully heard and addressed where possible.

It does, however, reflect such a disposition to persist in those concerns once they have been addressed (and shown to be manageable) or where those concerns are taken to have greater precedence than the needs of those facing housing insecurity."

Yes in New West

In the final and most important chapter of her magnum opus, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the great urban theorist Jane Jacobs discusses "the kind of problem a city is."

That problem, she says, is a problem of organized complexity.

A city is a complex, adaptive system, in which the decentralized actions of countless people, all influencing each other in both direct and indirect ways, result in patterns of life and activity that no policy maker could have predicted or orchestrated. The task of growing a resilient city is thus less like math or engineering—making sure all the constituent parts (like infrastructure and public services) are in good working order, making sure problems are anticipated and addressed methodically. It's more like conservation biology, mixed with a healthy dose of art and maybe a little bit of alchemy.

Daniel Herriges Complex vs Complicated

Go Tell Someone

Share what you’ve learned about Del-POP (and from your time in Del-POP) with your friends, family, foes, and favourites.

Invite them to a meeting to see what Del-POP is all about and encourage them that they can make a difference too!

Become a Member

Membership in Del-POP is an awesome way to become part of a local, active, and supportive community.

We often say that we’re a support group for altruists because we’re advocating for projects and policies that benefit everyone!

Membership in Del-POP isn’t automatic – we expect you to take two actions first.

Head over to our membership page to learn more!

Dig Even Deeper with our 'Deep Dives'

Deep Dive: Why Are Mixed Use Spaces Essential For Better Housing In Delta? (check it out)

Deep Dive: How Did Modernist Theories Like The Radiant City Shift Planning Practices? (check it out)