It’s not just empty houses that are bad for small business – the big new houses that replace them are bad, too. When a house gets torn down on the city’s west side, the house that replaces it is much larger. On average, it is 77 per cent larger, according to data provided by Landcor Data Corp. In Kerrisdale, the average new house built is 85 per cent bigger. Oftentimes, that huge house will sit empty, or only occasionally used. And if it is used, even part of the year, the big house phenomenon alters the demographic that supports small business. Studies have shown there is a correlation between people who buy big houses and their tendency to travel by car to shopping malls and big box retailers, says Mr. Wachsmuth. “If you look at the trend toward tearing down houses and making them bigger, that’s a trend that moves in the opposite direction of walkability of neighbourhoods,” he says. “Small retailers generally rely on foot traffic. In neighbourhoods where the houses are getting bigger, people do more driving. There is a strong correlation between people who have more money and people who drive more.”
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 22:46:03 +0000
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