Property News · January 4, 2016

Crime in the community: when 'designer' social housing goes wrong


How did innovative Winnipeg social housing, designed by one of Canada’s most talked about architecture firms, become a haven for drink and drugs?In photographs, Centre Village doesn’t look like the generic image of social housing. A playful cluster of stucco buildings surround a serene inner courtyard. Bold, orange-framed windows punctuate the white walls. Located as it is on a street in Winnipeg, Canada – and sandwiched on either side by that city’s typical modest, gable-roof houses – Centre Village has an almost surreal quality.In person, however, the image quickly changes. The window blinds, for example, are closed on the windows that face into the courtyard. Litter is scattered across the ground. Speak to residents, and a new picture emerges: of apartments poorly suited to family life, and a building structure that seems to act as a magnet for drinking and drug-taking at all hours. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
Read more…Crime in the community: when ‘designer’ social housing goes wrong

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