A day after Premier David Eby announced construction of 90 modular units to help address the housing crisis in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, critics said they worry such projects have become the de facto housing solution, as permanent developments await funding.

Municipal politicians in Nanaimo and Maple Ridge say modular housing in their communities did not have the promised wraparound supports, which led to a spike in crime and social disorder to the surrounding neighbourhoods.

And one UBC researcher worries modular homes could do more harm than good, putting people in an uncertain environment and worsening health outcomes.

Danya Fast, a research scientist at the B.C. Centre on Substance Use, said while she supports creating more housing for people as quickly as possible, modular housing complexes can “actually deepen a sense of uncertainty in young people’s lives, especially when they’re temporary.”

“Yes, housing should come first,” she said. “But there is this crucial question of what’s next for these young people in this temporary modular housing?”

Fast, an assistant professor in the department of medicine at the University of British Columbia, co-wrote a commentary with two other researchers which raised concerns about the role modular homes play in institutionalizing youth, which could do more harm than good to their health.

“We also hear from young people about using more drugs in these places, whether it’s because they’re feeling uncertain about their futures or because these are places where there is a lot of active open drug use and dealing,” she said.

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