alvinofdiaspar

alvinofdiaspar t1_ixa2eix wrote

LOL, thanks - I am on the warpath to find the "perfect" rendition - I have multiple versions by Juha Tapio, Club For Five, Joel Hallikainen, YL Voice Choir, Larui Tahka, etc.

I also find the Finnish practice of visiting family graves and lighting candles on Christmas Eve absolutely beautiful and poignant.

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alvinofdiaspar t1_ivz2tg2 wrote

The problem with the Greater Toronto Area is that there is tons of technically redevelopable land that aren't intensified because public policy shields single family homes from development pressure - this limits new housing to either the urban boundary, formerly industrial brownfields OR high-rise condos at very selected locations - which coupled with the rapidly increasing population is the cause of the problem.

There are some commonalities with Singapore though - in that housing is considered an asset for future retirement needs, which makes policy gearing towards popping the asset bubble unpopular to the subset of demographic/voters currently in power. But unlike Singapore where government public rental housing is a thing, it really isn't here in the GTA (or North America in general) for all except the lowest-income population. Relegating housing entirely to pretty much the private sector alone is a giant public policy failure.

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