Hundreds gathered in downtown 91原创 on Sunday, calling on government to address increasing housing unaffordability in the city.
The rally, which drew politicians, academics, housing representatives and citizens to the 91原创 Art Gallery, had its roots with a 91原创 woman who took to social media to vent her frustration.
Eveline Xia, the rally鈥檚 organizer, wrote out her first-ever Tweet in March, kicking off a conversation about affordability and starting the hashtag, 鈥�#donthave1million.鈥�
Xia, 29, heard from other professionals in their 20s, 30s and 40s 鈥� including engineers, accountants and medical professionals 鈥� who felt that without an extra $1 million lying around, they were bound to be priced-out of 91原创.
The hashtag, for which the rally was named, picked up buzz on social and traditional media, and Xia unexpectedly found herself as a sort of spokeswoman for what鈥檚 become a top concern for her generation.
鈥淚t was my first tweet,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it went viral because there was a pent-up demand in this city to talk about this problem.鈥�
Xia said she鈥檚 glad to see politicians recently discussing affordability solutions openly, which she believes is a response to public pressure.
鈥淭he horse is out of the barn now. The provincial and municipal governments are on defence and that鈥檚 a good thing,鈥� Xia said. 鈥淭hey realize that there鈥檚 no more running with the status quo.鈥�
Sunday鈥檚 event was co-hosted by Generation Squeeze, a group representing 91原创s in their 40s and younger, called 鈥渢he most-overdue lobby in the country鈥� by Generation Squeeze founder Paul Kershaw.
Kershaw, a University of B.C. public-policy expert, said: 鈥�91原创 has become a generational city. It鈥檚 so difficult for young people across the class spectrum to make a go of it here.鈥�
Event organizers estimated the crowd to be between 300 and 400.
One group of men and women in attendance Sunday said they couldn鈥檛 remember having ever attended a rally of any kind. But, they said, this particular cause compelled them to come out. A man holding his six-month-old son in his arms said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the city that I love, and I feel that it鈥檚 kind of at a breaking point.鈥�
91原创 Mayor Gregor Robertson鈥檚 office issued a statement Sunday, saying: 鈥淭oday鈥檚 #donthave1million rally for affordable housing is an important step to make the public aware of the negative impact that soaring housing prices are having on a younger generation in 91原创.鈥�
In the statement, Robertson said: 鈥淚 hear on a daily basis from people who are struggling to stay in the city ... This conversation needs to happen and I hear the concerns loud and clear 鈥� and I hope the provincial and federal governments are listening, too.鈥�
Last week, Robertson and prominent condo marketer Bob Rennie made separate statements about affordability, with both supporting the idea of a speculation tax as a possible solution.
In a speech last Friday to the Urban Development Institute, Rennie said that foreign investment is just one of many factors contributing to higher housing prices, and cited figures from recent Rennie condo projects to suggest overseas buyers made up only a small portion of sales.
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