In Vancouver, Squamish Nation builds what many cities struggle to: lots of housing

NPR | By Alex Mayyasi

Published April 9, 2026 at 4:46 AM EDT

In Vancouver, the Squamish Nation had a chance to do what many housing advocates dream of, developing a plot of prime urban real estate without zoning constraints. So what did they build? Housing.

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Alex Mayyasi

Alex Mayyasi is a longtime contributor to Planet Money and the author of Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life (April 2026). Previously he was the founding editor of Gastro Obscura, which earned two James Beard Awards and published a bestselling travel book, and a writer and editor at Priceonomics.

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