THE EASTSIDE IS CHANGING

VANCOUVER - John F. Kennedy never solved the poverty problem. He believed,
"Man holds in his hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty,"
but apparently even his hands weren't powerful enough to accomplish the task.

Still, his words are worth noting as Vancouver takes a significant step
toward the cultural revival of its notorious downtown Eastside. The
community is known worldwide as the home to drug addicts, prostitutes,
vagrants and criminals. Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson and the
ever-present John Ralston Saul visited the area last week. Despite attempts
to script her movements and sanitize the streets prior to the royal tour,
she still found herself standing over a passed out body on the sidewalk.

Such is life in the downtown Eastside.

But Vancouver is now willing to throw a lifeline to this land of misery.
After years of debate, it finally approved the redevelopment of the
abandoned Woodwards building that stands at the heart of the community. It
will be transformed into a $149-million residential/commercial complex by
an architect who is renowned for creating social housing projects that
benefit the entire community.

The design includes diverse plans for daycare, senior citizens, an
aboriginal healing centre, medical resources and small business. A
34-storey residential tower will provide at least 100 units for social
housing. It promises to give community members educational opportunities, a
diverse cultural experience and an open food market. The building process
itself will be used to provide skills education and job experience to those
in the neighbourhood.

In the best-case scenario, this complex will become a critical commercial
and social anchor for the community. The Woodwards building has been
abandoned for the past decade and its demise likely accelerated the area's
economic and cultural decline. Restoring its past glory is an important
symbol of physical, economic and cultural regeneration that will likely
induce a sense of pride in community members.

A restored landmark also reminds us that the Eastside is more than drug
addicts, criminals and street people. It's also a neighbourhood of loving
families, legitimate businesses and working individuals. To them, this
project represents a monetary commitment to their community that has both a
positive focus and outcome; it's a vast difference from the usual
government commitments to funnel funds into money-pit programs directed at
rehabilitating drug users. Until now, the idea of investing money to create
a lively, economically prosperous neighbourhood in which businesses,
families and individuals can all thrive has taken a backseat.

But (and you had to know one was coming) beyond the symbolism of renewal,
there exists a harsh reality. This "designer building" is situated in the
poorest neighbourhood in Canada; one that is rife with social breakdown,
homelessness, drug addicts and drug sellers.

Some sociologists believe that poverty-stricken communities exist as part
of a "seamless web" that interconnects crime, commerce, social housing,
drugs, street violence, gangs and diminished opportunities in education and
sport. No link is independent of the others; all elements of a society are
interconnected.

Practically speaking, this translates to the following: Providing
educational facilities and housing will have limited impact if the
surroundings remain a criminal and social mess. Drugs and violence will
eventually render the benefits from this project to be short-lived. America
provided social housing to its inner-cities without addressing the
surrounding social quagmire; walls were soon covered with graffiti and
criminal gangs overtook buildings. Apathy and fatalism overcame the initial
pride in having a home. The inner-city underclass was essentially
entrenched by what was meant to save them.

Obviously, this is the worst-case scenario. But it underscores an important
point -- buildings alone don't cure social ills.

For 10 years, The Broken Window Theory has proven to be critical to
neighbourhood renewal. A Harvard criminologist noted that if a broken
window in a building went unrepaired, all other windows were soon broken.
The unfixed window sent the message that no one cared enough to fix it and
vandalism would go unpunished. Leaving graffiti on walls evoked the same
response. If there was no response to the most petty of crimes, vandals
took over buildings and laid waste to neighbourhoods.

Creating a successful landmark goes hand in hand with being tough on crime,
prostitution, drug sales and other factors that contribute to social
decline in the area. This has yet to happen in the Eastside, but it remains
key to reclaiming the neighbourhood for commercial investment and family
living.

Vancouver councillors have six months to finalize project details. But
quibbling over minute design details is time ill-spent. Rather, this time
should be used to create a comprehensive community strategy to address the
social problems that will ultimately contribute to -- or minimize -- the
success of this community project.