大杂院长大的我更愿参与加国“后院盖房”运动（观点）
对于那些习惯了家乡多户共居大杂院的人士来说，加拿大占地广袤，附有后院花园的独立住宅既令人艳羡又让人感叹。记得几十年前，作为一名新移民，当我第一次欣赏加拿大的独立住宅时，感概万千，心头万绪溢于言表，那些一栋栋彼此远离，宽敞靓丽而风情万种的住宅令我惊诧不已，在欣赏其豪华，优雅，和风格迥异的同时，但又深叹其万般的寂静和广疏，缺乏家乡邻里社区嘈杂喧闹却关系紧密的传统和文化。随着加拿大的居住模式逐渐倾向于高密度、低拓展以解决人口增长和住房危机，这种既加强了邻里社区感，又具有一定独立和隐秘性的居住方式会对新移民社区具有独到的魅力和吸引力。
For someone accustomed to shared living conditions in their home country, Canada's detached homes with landscaped gardens can be both stunningly beautiful and surprisingly isolating. Reflecting on my first encounter with Canada's detached homes decades ago as a new immigrant, I was overwhelmed with emotions, struck both by their beauty and isolation. While the spacious and elegant homes—beautifully decorated and diverse in design—were admirable, the deadly quiet and widely dispersed living model somehow elicited a deep longing for the bustling, close-knit communities that formed the core of my living arrangements back home. As Canada's housing challenges drive a shift towards less sprawling and higher density living, newcomers may find these growing living solutions particularly appealing, as they offer both a sense of community and the benefits of privacy and independence.
我的个人经历就是这一观点的最好见证。我生长在北京的一座大杂院内，当时北京经历着20世纪60年代住房短缺之危机。在这个大杂院里，一座传统的单户庭院被分割成多个家庭的住所。我们一家四口住在一个昏暗狭小的房间里，爬满青苔的一介小屋却承担了日常生活的多种功能，从做饭、洗衣到睡觉和工作学习。院内只有一个水龙头和厕所，由二十个居民共用，卫生条件极差，隐私和独立空间及个人尊严也荡然无存。不言而喻，加拿大独立住宅与大杂院形成强烈鲜明对比，阳光充足的客厅，宽敞厨房配有私人浴室的独立卧室，既豪华又奢侈，与那种拥挤不堪近乎群居的日子犹如天壤之别，好似天赐之物。
My personal experience serves as a testament to this perspective. I grew up in DaZaYuan in Beijing during the housing shortages of the 1960s. In this DaZaYuan, a traditional single-family courtyard house was subdivided to accommodate multiple families. Our family of four lived in a dimly lit, moss-covered, and cramped room that served multiple functions of daily life, including cooking, sleeping, and studying. With more than twenty residents sharing a single tap and toilet, sanitation, privacy, and human dignity barely existed. In stark contrast, the luxurious lifestyle of Canada’s detached homes, with sun-filled living rooms and spacious bedrooms featuring private bathrooms, feels like night and day, almost like a godsend.
北京大杂院 / Dazayuan in Beijing
尽管在这种拥挤不堪的居住格局下，大杂院却给我带来了充满爱、关怀和快乐的极为珍贵的童年记忆。邻居们组成了一个大家庭，是我童年生活中各方面的依赖和保障。当我父母在文化大革命高潮时期因遭受政治迫害而不能回家时，邻居家的“叔叔”、“阿姨”和“奶奶”自然地承担起照顾我的角色，使孤独中的我得到了莫大的关怀和体恤。大杂院还为我提供了与来自社会不同阶层和群体的孩子们一起玩耍，进行集体活动的机会，这无疑对儿童的情感和心理健康发展，培养其社交能力起到了至关重要的作用。显然，这种深度的日常互动为无论是成人还是儿童都提供了极大的安全感和归属感，这也使得加拿大那种彼此远隔，互不相扰的居住方式相形见绌。
Despite the challenges of cramped living conditions, the DaZaYuan also brought me cherished childhood memories filled with love, care, and joy. Neighbors formed an extended family, providing unwavering support that permeated every aspect of my early years. The "aunties," "uncles," and "grannies" next door seamlessly stepped into the roles of caregivers whenever my parents, politically stranded during the peak of the Cultural Revolution, were away, offering me immediate comfort and support in times of distress. The DaZaYuan also provided ample opportunities to hang out with kids from all walks of life, fostering companionship and group support activities that were integral to our social, emotional, and psychological well-being. The deep level of daily interactions offered a profound sense of intimacy, security, and belonging for both adults and children, making the more segregated and solitary living spaces in Canada pale in comparison.
加拿大独立屋 / Detached homes in Canada
由于加拿大也在面临日益严重的住房短缺，使这种宽阔，稀疏，彼此远离的居住格局难以为继，不得不面临改变。增加住房供应的中密度（Gentle Density）住房格局计划正逐渐获得越来越多的关注，允许在为单户家庭设计的社区内建造后院房屋、巷道房屋和多户低层住宅。在 加拿大各城市兴建的几千个这类小规模住宅增加了住宅密度，在维持各户居民隐私的同时，缩短了邻里居民之间的距离。根据研究《误念：增加居住密度会影响居民健康福祉》，增加居住密度会增强邻里互动，培养社区归属感，因而有助于缓解在加拿大人中日益普遍的孤独感——尤其是在新移民和老年人群体。
The fabric of Canada's sprawling neighborhoods faces a growing demand for change as the country increasingly experiences housing shortages. Gentle density, a potential solution aimed at increasing housing supply by ending single family zoning, has gained momentum. Municipalities across Canada—particularly Toronto and Vancouver, which face the most severe housing shortages—have passed legislation allowing backyard houses, laneway houses, and multiplexes to emerge in neighborhoods originally designed for single-family living. The emergence of several thousand low-scale housing units across Canadian cities has facilitated closer physical proximity among residents while preserving their privacy. According to the study :The Myth: Density Equals Worse Wellbeing and Health Outcomes, social interactions and a sense of community brought by the gentle density help to alleviate the loneliness that is increasingly prevalent among Canadians – particularly newcomers and seniors.
毫无疑问，这种向提高居住密度的住房格局的转变将会打造出许多新移民房主所渴望的更有活力和生机的居民社区。他们对不满噪音嘈杂和造成社区特征改变的NIMBY(不许后院盖房）运动嗤之以鼻，比本地的加拿大人更容易接受能加强的社区联系的高密度的居住方式。在多伦多一栋独立住宅中生活了几十年后，我们计划在后院建造额外住宅，旨在吸引更多租户，营造一个童年美好记忆中更紧密、更温暖的邻里社区。
The shift towards higher-density living is likely to create more vibrant and lively neighborhoods that many newcomer homeowners desire. They defy the NIMBY (not in my backyard) movement that concerns about noise, privacy and changes to neighborhood character, embracing gentle density with increased human connections more readily than their local Canadian counterparts. After decades of living in a detached home in Toronto, we plan to develop multiplexes in our backyard, aiming to attract more tenants and foster a friendlier, warmer community reminiscent of my cherished childhood memories.
