I have lived in one 19-level building in Waterloo. The building has an atrociously terribly considered layout - the mailroom accessible only through the service elevator, or by going outside; it has been broken into numerous times, me and my former partner have lost deliveries. The "swimming pool" is tiny and not usable for exercise, but wonderful for people who like to delude themselves into believing that they've got something worth "flexing". The apartment had an issue of fine white dust that coated everything in the apartment, requiring us to invest in an air purifier to clean out this dust. The shower stall had black mold growing behind the silicone sealant, requiring its removal to deal with the mold. The sliding blinds are incapable of blocking out the outside light as they leave large gaps on either side, requiring application of foam to create sufficient darkness for sleep. A cabinet door was improperly affixed, had to be removed and reinstalled. The "fancy" electric stove is touch operated and I almost had a fire due to setting it at a low level and sitting nearby waiting for it to warm up - the tiniest amount of dirt causes the stove's heat setting to jump to maximum (I prefer cooking on gas stoves). A smoke alarm malfunctioned when I moved in and beeped noisily regularly, the person I called asked if I had a ladder to fix it myself instead if taking responsibility for this new apartment's numerous concerns. The dishwasher's outlet was not connected to the drain which we noticed, fortunately, before running the dishwasher for the first time. The balcony electrical outlet failed, when I was replacing it I found that the receptacle was filled with debris, possibly leading to a short circuit on this barely used outlet. The claims of "soundproofed" were empty, I can easily hear the neighbors conversations, as well as they loudly have sex banging against the wall while I meditate in my bedroom quietly - the elevator noise is also loud and its vibrations make the networking area vibrate, affecting the fiber optics equipment. As fancy as this building may seem, as many cool marketing terms they may have been able to toss in, it was not a good place to live, it exists purely to further the backwardness of the whites here to delude themselves into their superiority, while having little to no ability to actually create quality homes and livable spaces. I am too disappointed to place any trust in this entire continent, which appears to be content with the ability to "flex", and bear no connection to love, truth, or humanity.
I'm surprised you don't make the connection here between Chapman's idea and the Haudenosaunee 'Protect the Tract' moratorium on development along the Haldimand Tract. It's so difficult when reconciliation is at odds with the need for affordable housing — would love to hear your ideas on that Melissa.
"Defending the integrity of our neighbourhoods" means defending the privileged.
I have lived in one 19-level building in Waterloo. The building has an atrociously terribly considered layout - the mailroom accessible only through the service elevator, or by going outside; it has been broken into numerous times, me and my former partner have lost deliveries. The "swimming pool" is tiny and not usable for exercise, but wonderful for people who like to delude themselves into believing that they've got something worth "flexing". The apartment had an issue of fine white dust that coated everything in the apartment, requiring us to invest in an air purifier to clean out this dust. The shower stall had black mold growing behind the silicone sealant, requiring its removal to deal with the mold. The sliding blinds are incapable of blocking out the outside light as they leave large gaps on either side, requiring application of foam to create sufficient darkness for sleep. A cabinet door was improperly affixed, had to be removed and reinstalled. The "fancy" electric stove is touch operated and I almost had a fire due to setting it at a low level and sitting nearby waiting for it to warm up - the tiniest amount of dirt causes the stove's heat setting to jump to maximum (I prefer cooking on gas stoves). A smoke alarm malfunctioned when I moved in and beeped noisily regularly, the person I called asked if I had a ladder to fix it myself instead if taking responsibility for this new apartment's numerous concerns. The dishwasher's outlet was not connected to the drain which we noticed, fortunately, before running the dishwasher for the first time. The balcony electrical outlet failed, when I was replacing it I found that the receptacle was filled with debris, possibly leading to a short circuit on this barely used outlet. The claims of "soundproofed" were empty, I can easily hear the neighbors conversations, as well as they loudly have sex banging against the wall while I meditate in my bedroom quietly - the elevator noise is also loud and its vibrations make the networking area vibrate, affecting the fiber optics equipment. As fancy as this building may seem, as many cool marketing terms they may have been able to toss in, it was not a good place to live, it exists purely to further the backwardness of the whites here to delude themselves into their superiority, while having little to no ability to actually create quality homes and livable spaces. I am too disappointed to place any trust in this entire continent, which appears to be content with the ability to "flex", and bear no connection to love, truth, or humanity.
I'm surprised you don't make the connection here between Chapman's idea and the Haudenosaunee 'Protect the Tract' moratorium on development along the Haldimand Tract. It's so difficult when reconciliation is at odds with the need for affordable housing — would love to hear your ideas on that Melissa.