Housing, food and the crises in our York Region municipalities

Yorkregion.com

Sept. 26
Katie Konstantopoulos
OPINION

For the second time this year, our province will go to the polls to determine what Ontarians value.

On Oct. 24, I’m looking for a shakeup at municipal councils across York Region that puts the needs of young people on the table, including our ability to access and afford housing and food.

Right now, young people across York Region are at risk. Our needs aren’t being met by our community, our local governments, and our local infrastructure.

Many of us are struggling with rising food prices, unaffordable housing options, and a variety of other issues that impact access to complete communities. I, like many other youth, am increasingly worried about our survival in the next four years, and well into the future.

It isn't news that voices of young people are frequently overlooked in the planning of our communities, even when our futures are on the table. While many of us are working hard at cultivating awareness, building coalitions, and designing solutions in our neighbourhoods, we’d like our municipal leaders to hear our perspectives, too.

If given space at the table, young people of York Region would tell you that we’re concerned about affordable housing and food issues, including the impact of urban sprawl on agriculture and the impact of affordable housing on food security.

For example, we’re worried about losing farmland. York Region is planning over 55 per cent growth by 2051. In that time, thousands of acres of prime farmland are at risk because of the preference for sprawling subdivisions.

We must keep our municipalities and the province accountable, prioritizing land preservation, reducing urban sprawl, and integrating the needs of communities and our food system into long-term planning.

We’re also concerned about the increased unaffordability of housing and food. As youth, we already face a higher likelihood of being food insecure, or seeking shelter due to displacement and housing scarcity.

We are worried about our community members, family, neighbours, and friends. We know that diverse housing types, local grocery options, and solid transportation networks can help us solve this.

In the last few years, I’ve worked with the York Region Food Network’s Youth Food Committee, where we regularly discuss the interconnections between housing and food policy.

We need to plan for equitable housing and food futures to truly resist the many crises of unaffordability, and we need our electoral candidates to hear us before it’s too late to take action.