The residential areas of Sardis,
Vedder, and Garrison are made up of a dynamic mixture of single family
dwellings, condos, and apartments. Probably the newest and most prestigious
neighborhood in Chilliwack is Garrison Crossing. Nominated for the Great Places
in Canada contest in 2011 Jennifer Feinberg, in her article Garrison and Salish Nominated as Great
Places, says that “Part
of what sets it apart is the incredibly diverse mix of housing, which in turn
attracts a mix of incomes and demographics.” [3] The 2014 Chilliwack Quality
of Life Survey Report indicates that over 44% of the people of Chilliwack live
within Sardis, Garrison, or Vedder. as shown in Figure 1.1. The same survey also indicates that “40% (91/225) of those intending to move in
the next 2 years indicated they would choose Sardis.”
This large populus living in, or
wanting to live in, such a small area of the city can be attributed to what
Knox and Pinch in “Urban Social Geography: An Introduction” talk about as
“conspicuous consumption” a trend in which capitalism has transitioned into a
push for consumption over production and caused “the demand for home ownership
and the consequent emphasis on the home and its accessories as an expression of
self and social identity.”[5]
This “social identity” or “expression of self” that the average Chilliwackian
seems to have or desire could be attributed to the closeness to recreational
facilities or even shopping centres; however, the 2014 Chilliwack Quality of
Life Survey Report signals a bit of a different correlation in its section on
safety.
The report indicates that “47% of
those in Chilliwack and 59% of those in Downtown Chilliwack believe that crime
rates have increased in Chilliwack, while 41% in Garrison and 38% in Sardis
believe crime rates have increased in the area.”[6] This information alone isn’t
necessarily important as it only shows that many of Chilliwack’s residents,
regardless of neighborhood, believe that, even in the face of statistics that
provide evidence to the contrary, the overall crime rate of Chilliwack has gone
up. However, the report goes on to say that “The real division in perceptions
is in regard to their own neighbourhoods. Few people in Garrison (5%) and
Sardis (13%) believe that crime has increased in their neighbourhoods while
both Chilliwack and Downtown Chilliwack respondents (39% 10 Statistics Canada,
Police Reported Crime Statistics for 2013. 29 respectively) believe it has
increased in their neighbourhoods.”[7]
This suggests that the residents living in Sardis, Garrison, and Vedder, feel
that their neighbourhood is safer than that of the other neighbourhoods in
Chilliwack.
Interestingly enough, in the Housing section at www.chilliwack.ca,
a detailed account of the city's plans for the Affordable Housing Strategy, the
Chilliwack Healthier Community, Adaptable Housing, and the
Supportive Housing
Assistance Policy (all of which are various social programs aimed at increasing
the quality of life for citizens dealing with mental health issues, addictions,
homelessness, etc.,) outline the established projects under these headlines
since 2008. Which are:
●
Affordable Housing Apartment (40-units) at 9340 Corbould Street - small
unit apartment rental.
●
Chilliwack Health & Housing Center (45921 Hocking Avenue) provides a
broad range of community support services and a 22 unit supportive housing
component (the Annis Residence).
●
Ruth & Naomi’s Mission (46130 Margaret Avenue) provides a valuable
service to the community, providing food, clothing, support and emergency
shelter to homeless and marginalized people since 2003. Ruth and Naomi’s also
offer addiction services, education, and training for reintegration into the
community.
●
The Village (8937 School Street) provides 33 apartments of supportive
housing in a four-storey building for adults with mental-health barriers and
youth at risk of homelessness. This site is operated by the Chilliwack
Community Services Society (CCSS) with support services provided by the
Creative Center Society (CCS).[8]
The interesting part of these establishments, and their
ties to the community in Sardis, Garrison, and Vedder, is that all of these
social programs have been instituted
near Chilliwack’s downtown core, on the opposite side of the city from
Sardis, Garrison, and Vedder. Contrast this with the information presented in
the 2014 Chilliwack Quality of
Life Survey Report (created 7 years after the establishment of the social
institutions listed) and there is a keen correlation to the desired movement
and feeling of safety felt inside the borders of the Sardis, Garrison, and
Vedder communities.
The point derived from this information is not an attempt
to discredit or discourage the strategies and institution of the various social
programs that the city of Chilliwack has undertaken. On the contrary, these
social programs are fundamental in decreasing crime, homelessness, and in
helping to provide stable transition and housing for people dealing with mental
illness or addictions. This information, although brash, provides a perspective
on what makes this neighborhood so desirable and also what creates a person’s
“social identity” within that neighbourhood. If Knox and Pinch are correct
about their theories of increasing consumeristic and materialistic values in the
middle class[9]
than these statistics on people’s movements into the Sardis, Garrison, and
Vedder community is very easily correlated to the rising social programs on the
other side of the city and the increase in modern dwellings within that very
community. This residential neighbourhood is desirable because people see it as
safer which is probably due to the congregation of social programs in the
opposite side of the city and because of the materialistic values that are
found in the social identity of this generation's individual. Sardis, Garrison,
and Vedder's residential areas are a testament to the illustrations of space
building and culture that come with a communities influence and development of
an area.
[3] Knox, Paul and Steven Pinch. “Urban Social
Geography: An Introduction.” 6th ed. Routledge. 2013. P.13
[4]Watson, Katherine. “Chilliwack 2014 Quality of
Life Survey Report.” University of the
Fraser Valley, Center for Social Research. 2014. P.28
[5]
Ibid. P. 28-29
[6]
[7]
Knox and Pinch. "Urban Social Geography." P. 13
[8]
[9] Knox and Pinch. "Urban Social Geography." P. 13