In British Columbia, heat is exposing and exacerbating deeply rooted inequalities. The ongoing housing crisis coupled with deadly heatwaves have placed tenants among our provinces’ most vulnerable to the uneven impacts of climate change. Why do tenants face ongoing risk to heatwaves? And, how can they be better protected in the future? This podcast episode follows BC tenant Margaret, who is currently navigating the intersecting challenges of housing and climate change. What can her experiences show us about the change that tenants need in the face of worsening climate impacts?
The Centre for Climate Justice (CCJ) at UBC advances the urgent social, political, and economic changes necessary to address the climate crisis. This podcast is a production of the CCJ to showcase our various research projects. Our episodes come out of Housing Justice in a Climate Emergency Research Collective.
This project was funded by UBC Centre for Climate Justice’s Knowledge Translation Fund and was developed in partnership with BC Poverty Reduction Coalition.
The BC Poverty Reduction Coalition is comprised of over 80 organizations and community mobilizations that come together to advocate for public policy solutions to end poverty, homelessness.
This podcast was produced by Rona MacNicol and is part of a research project Housing Justice in a Climate Emergency co-led by Assistant Professor Mohammed Rafi Arefin and Professor Gerry Pratt.
Resources for tenants:
BC Acorn
BC Acorn New Westminster
BC Hydro Free Portable Air Contitioners
BC Tenants Resource & Advisory Centre
DTES SRO Collaborative
Vancouver Tenants Union
Victoria Tenant Action Group
References:
BC Coroners Service (2021). “Heat Related Deaths in BC”.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/lifeevents/death/coroners-service/news-and-updates/heat-related
CBC (2023). “Summer now means fear for some, as study shows poverty brought biggest risk of death in B.C. heat dome”.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/bc-heat-dome-poverty-connection-1.6891461
New West TV (2023). “City council meeting Aug 23rd on landlords and heat”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMZQ--PFAKA
Global News (2024). “Average Metro Vancouver renter spends 61% of monthly income on rent: report”.
https://globalnews.ca/news/10419444/metro-vancouver-rent/
Music Credits:
Headlights-Mountain Road by The Contessa Blue Dot Sessions
No one is perfect by HolzinaCC0
Lick Stick by Nursery Blue Dot Sessions
Order of Entrance by Architect Blue Dot Sessions
Plum Blossom by Kokura Station Blue Dot Sessions
Smooth Sided by Tannis Grove Blue Dot Sessions
Shrewsbury by Scalcairn Blue Dot Sessions
Vally VX by Limoncello Blue Dot Sessions
