Numerous warehouses, timber mills, rail yard facilities and wartime industries were constructed in easy-to-access areas like Coal Harbour and False Creek.
However, in the 1950s the area entered a period of decline, caused largely by the growing prominence of freight trucking and new industrial complexes such as Annacis Island being built on relatively cheap suburban land close to the freeways.
David Ley argues that this direct action to halt the spread of gentrification actually worsened the effects, as the city down-zoned Kitsilano and homemade improvement loans were easily available.
The lower density, tree-lined streets, access to the beach and downtown and relative ease of renovation made the area an attractive place for young professionals, which caused housing demand and prices to increase.
[3] In Noah Quastel's article, "Political Ecologies of Gentrification", he explains how the platform of greening and sustainability helps justify the displacement of locals in Vancouver.
[11] The British Columbia Residential Tenancy Act slows gentrification by limiting rent increases to levels below what the market will bear in a gentrifying area.
[14] Grandview–Woodland experienced little gentrification between 1971 and 2008 as a result of impediments including high levels of crime, a significant amount of social housing, and the presence of active industrial manufacturing.
Retail spaces along Hastings Street and Commercial Drive have been transitioning from businesses serving low-income residents to upscale food, drink, and specialty stores.
David Ley has examined why gentrification seems to have completely neglected this section of the city, which begins just blocks from Vancouver's ultra-high value financial district.
He attributes this to a combination of local resistance, led by the Downtown Eastside Residents Association, a large amount of available social housing and, "a street scene that has proved too raw for most middle-class sensibilities".