Gentrification Tax Action
Not For Sale!
Canadian Pavillion, Venice Biennale of Architecture 2023
In collaboration with Parkdale Neighborhood Land Trust, Levitt Goodman Architects and Tuf Labs, with the support of Just Seeds, Blackwell Engineering, The HIDI Group, Vermeulen Quantity Surveyors — one of ten clusters to create the coalition, Architects Against Housing Alienation.
We demand that the City of Toronto create a Gentrification Tax. To illustrate the transformative potential of this instrument, we have developed a case study in the downtown Toronto neighbourhood of Parkdale. This neighbourhood still contains large stock of affordable rental units for low-income residents, a majority of whom are racialised. Currently, both mid-rise apartments and rooming houses are under threat from corporate landlords and real estate investment trusts (REITs), who financialize housing, increasing rents and forcing out existing tenants.