More housing, faster â and with less guesswork! đïž
CMHCâs new Housing Design Catalogue is a step forward in making gentle density housing easier to build across Canada.
This free resource features ready-to-go designs for row-houses, fourplexes, sixplexes, and accessory dwelling unitsâdesigned to work in different regions across the country. This information offers a head start for homeowners, builders and municipalities in their planning processes.
Why does this matter? â It can help reduce design costs and speed up construction. â It supports smaller builders and homeowner-developers who might not have easy access to design expertise. â It helps communities add gentle density in ways that fit existing neighbourhoods.
The full architectural packages will be available this springâand weâll be keeping a close eye on how this can support projects right here in BC.
Thinking about bringing more housing options to your community? The Gentle Density Bylaw Guideâdeveloped by Small Housing and CMHCâis your roadmap to making it happen.
This resource captures the âstory so farâ of gentle density housing and provides actionable steps for local governments, planners, elected officials, and housing advocates. Whether youâre just starting the conversation or refining policies, this guide offers clear, practical advice to help shape more inclusive, livable neighborhoods.
Whatâs Inside?
What is Gentle Density? Learn how communities define and implement small-scale, multi-unit housing.
Community Engagement Strategies â Get tools to start productive conversations and address common concerns.
Step-by-Step Workplan â Follow a structured approach to assess housing needs and plan for gentle density.
Model Bylaws & Best Practices â Explore real-world examples and policy templates to simplify your process.
Additional Resources & Case Studies â See how different municipalities are making gentle density a reality.
Why This Guide?
Practical & Actionable â Designed to help local governments implement change now.
Community-Centered â Focused on making housing more accessible without disrupting neighborhood character.
Easy to Use â A structured, step-by-step format means you can dive in at any stage of your journey.
Unlocking the Missing Middle: Proven Practices for Affordable, Higher-Density Housing
The School of Cities, University of Toronto, presents a comprehensive report on enabling âMissing Middleâ (MM) housing developmentâa key solution to Canadaâs housing affordability and density challenges. This report explores proven and promising practices from Canada, the U.S., and New Zealand, offering actionable insights to overcome barriers and enhance reforms for MM housing.
What is Missing Middle Housing?
MM housing bridges the gap between single-family homes and high-rise buildings, encompassing:
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs): Small detached or attached homes.
Multiplexes: Multi-unit conversions of existing homes or purpose-built flats.
Small Apartment Buildings: Developments up to four storeys, often on a single lot.
Designed for households earning 51â120% of the area median household income (AMHI), MM also includes affordable options for low-income households through ADUs, rooming houses, and nonmarket housing. MM housing was once a staple of North American cities, offering compact, diverse housing types in central, well-serviced locations before exclusionary zoning and gentrification limited its availability.
Why Missing Middle Housing Matters
The benefits of MM housing are transformative:
Affordability: Smaller homes at moderate price points.
Diversity: A range of home sizes, from studio ADUs to four-bedroom apartments.
Accessibility: Proximity to public transit, amenities, and employment hubs.
Sustainability: Energy-efficient designs and reduced travel distances.
The Road Ahead
The report outlines barriers to MM developmentâlegislative, administrative, and financialâand identifies enablers to support its growth. Drawing from case studies in Auckland and other cities, it demonstrates how increasing MM housing supply can reduce housing costs and improve access for low-income tenants.
Scaling Up Modular Housing: A Blueprint for Success
The School of Cities, University of Toronto, has published a comprehensive report on the future of modular housing in Canada. This in-depth analysis explores how modular construction can be scaled up to address housing needs, with a particular focus on overcoming barriers through stronger collaboration between developers, manufacturers, and construction companies.
The report is divided into four key sections:
Overview â Learn about modular construction methods, where factory-produced components are assembled on-site, offering adaptable, efficient solutions for diverse environments.
Barriers and Enablers â Discover the challenges that limit modular housing adoption, from project-level constraints to industry-wide hurdles, and explore actionable solutions tailored to Canadaâs housing landscape.
Case Studies â Explore real-world examples showcasing how communities overcame obstacles to deliver successful modular housing projects.
Recommendations â Gain insights into strategies for scaling modular housing, including organizational changes, industry collaboration, and policy advocacy.
Unlock the potential of modular housing to transform Canadaâs housing market. Dive into actionable strategies, real-life examples, and expert recommendations that pave the way for scalable, sustainable solutions.
Explore how cities across Canada are embracing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) with the School of Cities, University of Torontoâs interactive ADU Tracker. Dive into charts and interactive maps that reveal the take-up of detached and attached ADUs in 16 major urban centres, alongside summaries of municipal and provincial policies shaping this housing innovation.
With federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) investments boosting housing supply to address population growth and affordability, this tool offers insights into ADU trends, permitting data from 2014â2023, and policy analysis. From Toronto to Calgary, see how ADUs are shaping the future of housingâand learn how your city can do the same.
Developed by Ahmad Al-Musa, Priya Perwani, Muhammad Khalis Bin Samion, & Jeff Allen.
Unlocking Albertaâs Middle Housing Potential
In partnership with the Canadian Urban Institute and mddl, and funded by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, this report dives into the transformative possibilities of middle housing in Alberta. From innovative strategies to overcome barriers to scaling production, to practical solutions for unlocking gentle density across the province, this collaboration is a must-read for anyone passionate about housing solutions. Curious about how middle housing could reshape Albertaâs communities?
Click through to discover the findings and recommendations shaping the future of attainable, diverse housing options!
Launched by the Community Planning Collaborative (CPC) in August 2024, the California ADU Plans Gallery is an innovative web application showcasing an array of prefabricated and traditional site-built designs. While tailored to U.S. jurisdictions, this gallery offers valuable insights for Canadian audiences, particularly for municipalities and planners exploring accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as a way to expand housing supply. Examples such as prefabricated designs and statewide pre-approvals can serve as inspiration for Canadian local governments considering ADU implementation in their communities. The site also includes a demo, offering local governments a preview for launching a similar custom tool.
âThe California ADU Plans Gallery gives local governments a place to demonstrate whatâs possible for their communities while providing a publicly accessible database of prefabricated plans approved for use statewide,â said David Driskell, principal at CPC, in a press release announcing the launch. âDigital tools like the ADU Plans Gallery help local governments assist their residents through the challenging ADU process and expand housing supply in their existing neighborhoods.â
âThroughout the United States, the housing deficit has created an affordability crisis. The underbuilding of new homes following the recession coupled with restrictive policies has led to historically low housing supplyâand the high costs that come with it. To highlight the solutions that will address this crisis, Zillow and the Casita Coalition have assembled a playbook of strategies to âBuild the Middleâ by expanding affordable, middle-scale housing options.â
Our friends at Zillow & the Casita Coalition have published a useful playbook that highlights innovations in the field of gentle density housing, collating them in an actionable framework template.
Our friends at Happy Cities have crafted a one-of-a-kind toolkit designed to enhance social well-being through thoughtful multi-unit housing designs, supporting diverse individuals of all ages, backgrounds, abilities, household sizes, and incomes. As they describe it:
âOver 2023 and 2024, Happy Cities, Hey Neighbour Collective, and researchers from Simon Fraser University worked together with five local municipalities and one First Nation to co-create new policies to encourage sociable multi-unit housing design.
âBuilding on the learnings from this projectâand nearly a decade of prior researchâHappy Cities and Hey Neighbour Collective have published a new design toolkit of evidence-based strategies to nurture social wellbeing multi-unit housing. The design principles and actions equip policy makers, planners, designers, and community members to build and advocate for more socially connected, inclusive communities, drawing on long-term research and engagement with residents and housing industry actorsâincluding non-profit housing providers, city planners, architects, and market developers.
âIn the face of growing challengesâincluding an acute housing affordability crisis, extreme weather, social isolation, and an aging populationâour social connections are one of the strongest resources we have to chart a more sustainable, resilient path forward.â
