• concerns of residents in neighbourhoods with social housing projects;
• the impacts, positive and negative, of social housing projects on residents, neighbourhoods and market values of nearby properties;
• specific causes of impacts using a case study approach; and
• measures which CMHC could take to minimize negative effects of social housing projects.

A telephone survey was conducted with residents living near a social housing project and in a "control area" in the same neighbourhood but some distance from the project. The survey questionnaire had 556 respondents; 60 per cent lived near one of the housing projects. Respondents were asked a number of questions regarding:

• satisfaction with their neighbourhood;
• concern about neighbourhood changes;
• awareness of social housing project;
• acceptance of social housing;
• factors influencing their acceptance of social housing;
• perceived impacts of social housing;
• prior knowledge of the project (notice, accuracy, involvement);
• satisfaction with prior consultation process; and
• residents' information needs.

The study also involved a file review of the 15 projects and a follow-up interview to gain an understanding of what transpires during the early planning and construction of social housing projects.

In general, respondents were most concerned about crime, safety for women and children and vandalism - the most important finding was that the levels of concern are not related to the proximity of residents to social housing projects. There were also concerns about changes in the character of the neighbourhood and the levels of community spirit.

With respect to social housing, the study found there was a high degree of awareness of social housing. The most serious concerns expressed were:

• property values - almost half believed that social housing projects have a negative impact;
• concentration of projects in specific areas;
• project design;
• physical appearance and upkeep of the project; and
• uncertainty associated with poor communication about the project before and during implementation.

In conclusion, the authors identify several issues that affect public acceptance of social housing for further consideration by CMHC:

• there is underlying public support/goodwill for social housing;
• an open and thorough consultation process is very important to public acceptance;
• better public information/education is required;
• public perceptions about property values are exaggerated or erroneous-need to dispel false ideas;
• need to pay more attention to concerns regarding crime, vandalism and safety;
• Canadians favour strong and healthy communities - need to tap into support for community-building with social housing as one component;
• actual impacts are not as great as the levels of concern expressed;
• over-concentration of social housing projects in neighbourhoods will undermine goodwill; and
• appropriate design is critical.

Overall, the survey results for Vancouver projects were similar to those of other cities. However, questionnaire responses were somewhat stronger for two aspects of the survey:

• respondents living near social housing projects were particularly concerned with how the character of their neighbourhood had changed in the previous two to four years;
• respondents living near social housing projects indicated their acceptance of social housing would be increased by a number of factors, including compatible design, adequate parking, limited number of projects per neighbourhood, limited size of projects, project housing people similar in background/lifestyle to host community.

The format of the document makes it somewhat difficult to get at the key findings, particularly for the large sample survey. There is no executive summary or highlight of the findings/conclusions.