Discontent City closes, 155 homeless now living in new temporary housing
NANAIMO — It’s the end of an era at downtown Nanaimo’s Discontent City, as bulldozers collect garbage and belongings at the now empty lot.
Discontent City is officially closed nearly eight months after it first opened on 1 Port Dr. to protest the lack of affordable housing in Nanaimo. Only cleanup crews and Nanaimo RCMP are now allowed on the site which is quickly returning to the barren plot of land it once was.
Nanaimo mayor Leonard Krog said though Discontent City is closed, it doesn’t mean the housing crisis in Nanaimo is over.
“There are people sleeping in parks around our community, sleeping in wooded areas, literally camping through the winter. But the important thing is people are actually getting housed now.”