Almost paradise
UN report calls Vancouver a 'paradise' city blighted by urban misery of Downtown Eastside
Peter O'Neil, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, June 27, 2007

OTTAWA - The United Nations today singled out Vancouver as an apparent "paradise" city blighted by a two-kilometre stretch of urban misery.

A grim analysis of the city's drug-drenched Downtown Eastside was included in a report released around the world by the UN Population Fund, which warns of huge social and environmental costs as urban populations skyrocket over the next two decades.
While the report focuses on the growing crisis in large and small cities in underdeveloped countries, Vancouver is one of five cities around the world high profiled as urban areas providing unique examples of urban development.

It describes Vancouver as a "breathtakingly gorgeous" city with a sizzling economy.
"But there is trouble in paradise. And nowhere is it more evident than in the Downtown Eastside-a two-kilometre-square stretch of decaying rooming houses, seedy strip bars and shady pawnshops," states the UN agency.

"Worst of all, it is home to a Hepatitis C (HCV) rate of just below 70 per cent and an HIV prevalence rate of an estimated 30 per cent-the same as Botswana's."

Read the rest here.
Full UN report here.
Addendum: Vancouver: Prosperity and poverty make for uneasy bedfellows in world’s most ‘liveable’ city here (doc file).