About 45% of Canadians said the downtown core in their nearest city has declined in the last year, according to a poll released by Leger on Thursday. .The poll said 31% of Americans believe the closest downtown core has deteriorated in the past year. .According to the poll, 15% of Canadians and 18% of Americans said they or a family member/close friend have feared for their safety in the downtown core near where they live in the last six months. .The top reason Canadians gave for why their downtown cores have declined were mental health challenges for vulnerable populations at 89%. This was followed by homelessness and lack of affordable housing for vulnerable populations (88%) and rising crime rates (87%). .The top reason Americans provided for downtown cores worsening were rising crime rates and homelessness (91%). This was followed by mental health challenges for vulnerable populations and drug addiction (84%). .This poll comes after Calgary’s downtown office vacancy rate hit 33.7% in the second quarter of 2022. .READ MORE: THOMAS: Downtown Calgary office space continues to empty out.Calgary’s vacancy rate is the highest in Canada. .The downtown core started hollowing out when oil prices crashed in 2015, which resulted in energy companies downsizing and ceasing operations. .The poll was conducted online with 1,509 Canadians and 1,002 Americans from August 5 to 7. The Canadian sample had a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, while the American group had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
About 45% of Canadians said the downtown core in their nearest city has declined in the last year, according to a poll released by Leger on Thursday. .The poll said 31% of Americans believe the closest downtown core has deteriorated in the past year. .According to the poll, 15% of Canadians and 18% of Americans said they or a family member/close friend have feared for their safety in the downtown core near where they live in the last six months. .The top reason Canadians gave for why their downtown cores have declined were mental health challenges for vulnerable populations at 89%. This was followed by homelessness and lack of affordable housing for vulnerable populations (88%) and rising crime rates (87%). .The top reason Americans provided for downtown cores worsening were rising crime rates and homelessness (91%). This was followed by mental health challenges for vulnerable populations and drug addiction (84%). .This poll comes after Calgary’s downtown office vacancy rate hit 33.7% in the second quarter of 2022. .READ MORE: THOMAS: Downtown Calgary office space continues to empty out.Calgary’s vacancy rate is the highest in Canada. .The downtown core started hollowing out when oil prices crashed in 2015, which resulted in energy companies downsizing and ceasing operations. .The poll was conducted online with 1,509 Canadians and 1,002 Americans from August 5 to 7. The Canadian sample had a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, while the American group had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
