Transit-Oriented Development and Suburban Gentrification: A “Natural Reality” of Refugee Displacement in Metro Vancouver

This article examines a highly localized example of marginalized renters in an aging, low- to moderate-density suburban neighborhood facing displacement because of high-density redevelopment in a transit-oriented development (TOD) planning area. In doing so, I offer a case study for those concerned that TOD interventions could result in gentrification and the displacement of low-income groups. In this article I show how TOD policy has come to bear upon residents of a single rental apartment complex in Metro Vancouver’s suburban City of Coquitlam, in British Columbia, Canada. This local case lies at a nexus of international migration, the Syrian refugee crisis, understandings of adequate refugee housing, and imaginaries of sustainable urban renewal. TOD policies are buttressed by arguments for smart growth and environmental sustainability, and in this case those arguments surmount social equity concerns. However, I question the impartiality of TOD logic requiring high-density residential redevelopment around rapid transit stations when residential intensification policies readily target areas of lower income renters, but are slower to affect areas of single-family homes. A mixed-methods research design of Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions reveals a complicated set of circumstances in which TOD planning contributed to the displacement of Syrian refugees.