Chapter 6 Answers to "Test Your Knowledge" and "Questions for Critical Thought" questions

The cycle of poverty is a set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention.

Housing is less easily built in rural areas because empty plots of land or multi-unit dwellings typically require expensive water, electrical, and sewer installation or upgrades. The scarcity of rental units increases competition, which can drive up prices relative to local incomes. This makes it less affordable for people to rent, as their income does not increase with the increased rent prices.

Factors that contribute to the housing crisis on Indigenous reserves include (a) the shortage of cash for infrastructural development, (b) the small size of reserves, and (c) a lack of political will.

The two main barriers faced by Canadians with disabilities are (a) accessibility and (b) affordability.

True. For example, requiring all potential tenants to submit a credit check discriminates against populations that may not have a credit history, such as young people who are only recently financially independent.

False. Low-income Canadians are more likely to live in rural areas or outside of large metropolitan areas, where there are fewer job opportunities, because it is cheaper.

False. Indigenous Peoples in Canada are the most vulnerable.

Ghettoization

Young people

Answers may include but are not limited to: Solutions for both problems are needed, as the issues are interlinked. Creating more houses would only partially resolve the issue, as the quality of housing, especially in and around big cities, depends on how accessible it is to transportation. If people have no way of accessing the city conveniently, then seeking housing outside the city will not be desirable, even if there are more houses outside the city. Similarly, if transportation is good but there is a shortage of housing, then houses will skyrocket in price due to the lack of supply. Thus, there needs to be an adequate amount of housing complemented by high-quality transportation in order to resolve both interlinked issues.

The specific examples required by the question are subject to your personal experiences. Examples from the chapter should be discussed, and personal experiences should be in some way connected to the theories outlined in the chapter. Example: Rental applications requiring credit scores disadvantage people who do not have these scores or who have no resources or rental histories to procure competitive rental applications.

Answers may include but are not limited to: Increasing funding for housing is only one part of the solution. Creating social housing that is accessible would make housing available for everyone, levelling the playing field. However, this is not sufficient on its own, as regulations have to be put in place that eliminate the discriminatory selection process for rentals, and the laws favouring landlords have to be abolished. Furthermore, affordable housing has to be created in oversupply so that population increases can be accounted for. Affordable housing also has to be protected from market forces and regulated by government forces so that it is not subject to market prices and price fluctuations. Housing-related challenges such as ghettoization (the tendency for certain neighbourhoods to be settled mainly by people of one particular class [often poor] and ethnicity [often racialized]) also have to be resolved. Social housing could be created in all parts of the city to eliminate these barriers and create more accessible accommodations.

This question allows for a creative answer that takes into account the ways in which discrimination occurs in housing and how these forms of discrimination have been addressed. The chapter states that “housing discrimination is only one form of discrimination. Typically, it occurs in rental housing arrangements when a potential tenant is unfairly denied an opportunity to rent an accommodation. It may also occur when a tenant already living in the rental unit is treated differently than other tenants.” Solutions could include, but are not limited to, implementing affordable housing programs and government subsidies that do not discriminate against individuals in any shape or form. Regulatory changes that reform the rental application process to make it more favourable for tenants (for example, by eliminating credit score requirements) could also be made.

As highlighted in the chapter, “modern city life is different from the way most people lived in the past. Urbanization has changed how people connect with one another. Pre-industrial communities were mainly small, rural settlements in which members shared a common (or collective) conscience and mechanical solidarity. Émile Durkheim ([1893] 2014) coined these terms to describe the sense of community that arose from common values, norms, and identity.” However, “in urban–industrial societies, social bonds are preserved by what Durkheim referred to as organic solidarity. This solidarity emerges from the division of labour. We are no longer self-sufficient; rather, we depend on one another for survival and prosperity.” The key point is that “while relations are less intimate in cities than in rural societies, social bonds still exist thanks to the interconnectedness between individuals.” You should mention the key concepts of “common (collective) conscience,” “mechanical solidarity,” and “organic solidarity” in order to formulate a convincing argument regarding the future outlook for our society. Examples from the chapter and real life should be referenced to reinforce your argument, supplemented by relevant key concepts from the chapter in question and previous chapters.