Challenges of public housing in the 1990s: The case of Ontario, Canada

Public housing makes up almost one-third of Canada's social housing stock. As Canada's earliest form of social housing, public housing is confronted with a great number of management challenges. Using the Ontario Housing Corporation as a case study, the article reviews the challenges confronting public housing and how housing management practices have changed in response. These challenges include a general residualization of tenants, the aging in place of seniors (who occupy nearly half the stock), and the physical deterioration or functional obsolescence of a significant share of that stock. The conclusions argue for reform of management that focuses on the modernization of management systems and the development of more appropriate organizational structures that can more readily adapt.