"What is the context here?" Brooks "No Vacancy" sign sparks debate online
A “Welcome to Hollywood” style sign with white letters that spell “No Vacancy” was erected in a southern Alberta town, leading to plenty of online debate.
The photo of the sign on Highway 1 in Brooks was posted on Reddit on Saturday. “No Vacancy sign by the highway in Brooks,” read the title of the post, which has received nearly 400 comments.
No Vacancy sign by the highway in Brooks.
byu/studebaker103 inalberta
The artist who created the sign explained in an Instagram post that it was a statement about Alberta’s lack of available housing.
“Brooks presents itself as the ‘city of 100 hellos’, but it’s difficult to welcome anyone, regardless of where they’re coming from, when there’s no space available,” they wrote.
“It is reflective of a statement that hotels use to express their shortage of available rooms, represented at a larger scale to parallel the housing crisis here in Alberta, Canada.”
View this post on Instagram
Albertans on Reddit, however, were quick to question the motive of the “No Vacancy” sign. While some got the artist’s message of protest against Canada’s lack of affordable housing, others questioned whether the sign was meant as an anti-immigration statement, among other potential explanations.
Alberta has seen a population boom overall as Canadians, especially those in BC, flock to the province for its relative affordability. However, as demand for housing grows, so too does the cost of housing, with both Calgary and Edmonton seeing some of the fastest-growing house prices in Canada.
What do you think of the “No Vacancy” sign? Let us know in the comments.