Thesis Defence: The Vancouver Broadway Redevelopment Plan: A Case Study of Low-income Senior Women’s Housing Experiences
March 10 at 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Cheryl-Lee Madden, supervised by Dr. Carlos Teixeira, will defend their thesis titled “The Vancouver Broadway Redevelopment Plan: A Case Study of Low-income Senior Women’s Housing Experiences” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies – Urban and Regional Studies theme.
An abstract for Cheryl-Lee Madden’s thesis is included below.
Defences are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Registration is not required for in-person defences.
Abstract
Housing is not only a fundamental human right and physiological need; it also a key determinant of quality of life. This study focuses on the barriers and challenges that low-income senior women experienced in Canada’s most expensive housing market (Cox, 2025), the Vancouver Fairview neighbourhood, when trying to stay put during Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), including finding affordable rental housing during a housing crisis. The coping strategies employed by senior women to overcome the barriers present in the rental housing market are also examined. Finally, this thesis makes recommendations for improving the rental housing experiences of low-income senior women living in other major cities in Canada.
Data for this study was collected through self-administered questionnaire surveys completed by low-income senior women participants living in rental housing (n = 43). Questions focused on their housing experiences, including the barriers they faced when resisting displacement pressures and searching for rental housing. Additional information was collected through participant informal follow-up interviews (n = 15) to elaborate on key themes: displacement pressures and the preferences and concerns that characterized participant’s housing instability. Semi-structured interviews with key informant experts (n = 15) on housing and low-income senior women’s health elaborated on the situations and experiences expressed by the participants. Key informants also provided recommendations for improving Vancouver’s housing situation.
Results included participants’ perceived lack of affordable housing options for those living with unique health needs, such as diminished eyesight, their preferences for staying put during TOD evictions, and high rental housing costs. The final significant barriers reported by participants included discrimination based on level and source of income, and gender. The examination of how gender affects the housing experiences of low-income senior renters who self-identify as female expands the existing body of TOD housing literature in major Canadian cities.
