Designers & Builders

In 2023, the Terner Center published “Making It Pencil: The Math Behind Housing Development” to assist policymakers in understanding the financial feasibility of large-scale, for-rent midrise apartment buildings. However, recent state and local land use reforms have focused on smaller-scale housing in lower-density neighborhoods, including accessory dwelling units (ADUs), duplexes, and fourplexes, often referred to as “missing middle” housing. States like California, Oregon, and Montana, along with cities such as Minneapolis and Portland, have introduced legislation and rules to promote this housing growth.

This policy paper employs the methodology from our 2023 report to analyze the development characteristics of missing middle projects. Through a series of project pro forma case studies across four California markets, the report finds that many missing middle housing types are not financially feasible, with four-unit ownership buildings being the most challenging to develop. Despite these challenges, missing middle housing can play a crucial role in providing entry-level homeownership and naturally affordable rental options. It is imperative for local and state policymakers to reexamine regulations that hinder the development of missing middle housing, such as lot size, parking, and insurance requirements.

Name: Happy Cities

About: Happy Cities is an urban planning, design, and engagement consulting firm with a mission to create happier, healthier, more inclusive communities. As part of its housing practice, Happy Cities advises municipalities, developers, and housing providers on strategies to support resident wellbeing throughout development and after move-in.

The organization’s Happy Homes research shows how intentional design can reduce social isolation, support age-friendly homes, and boost community resilience in multi-unit buildings, culminating in a toolkit to help housing providers turn wellbeing evidence into action. Happy Cities has applied these design strategies to developments like Our Urban Village Cohousing, an innovative missing middle project that offers a promising solution to Vancouver’s housing and social isolation crises. Along with showcasing the many benefits of gentle density, the project identifies solutions to reducing some of the financial and policy barriers that can impede community-oriented housing models.

For more information, head to their website.

ReHousing is a pioneering research initiative focused on converting single-family homes into multi-unit housing. Their approach emphasizes affordable, common-sense design to create high-quality, well-designed living spaces. Explore more about their work on their profile page on the Gentle Density Toolbox.

ReHousing leads numerous innovative projects, including a design catalogue featuring cost-effective, gentle density designs. This catalogue offers unique insights into the challenges and opportunities presented by various house configurations and lot sizes.

The designs in this catalogue have been categorized based on the relative cost and complexity of construction. Each design is mindful of future phasing, so you can move from one level to the next without having to redo work that you have already done. Each drawing represents one of the thirteen common house types found throughout Toronto, where ReHousing is based.

The full catalogue can be accessed here.

As Vancouver grows and evolves, we need to ensure that there are housing options that meet the needs of the diverse households that live and work here, including more “missing middle” housing options. With the help of Quickviz, the City of Vancouver developed this useful video that illustrates the changes proposed to allow more of this type housing in low density neighbourhoods across the city as part of the implementation of the Vancouver Plan. The animation depicts a standard block with a variety of housing options, including multiplexes (buildings with up to 6 units on a single lot).

As Vancouver grows and evolves, we need to ensure that there are housing options that meet the needs of the diverse households that live and work here, including more “missing middle” housing. With the help of Uytae Lee from About Here, the City of Vancouver explains what the “missing middle” is, and why they are exploring changes to allow more of this type of housing, including multiplexes (buildings with up to 6 units on a single lot), in low density neighbourhoods across the city as part of the implementation of the Vancouver Plan.

The City of Mississauga is offering free pre-approved plans for one-bedroom and studio garden suites.

As Small Housing holds, design flexibility is crucial for the financial viability of gentle density housing projects. It also ensures a variety of housing forms to better meet the diverse needs of our communities.

Offering pre-approved plans is an important step in progressing gentle density ambitions, making it easier for homeowners to build a detached unit on their property. You can explore the full suite of Mississauga’s resources on their dedicated page.

Download (PDF)

Nestled near the Elders Centre in the Tl’etinqox Community, six cabin-like homes are placed to form a circle to represent the four sacred directions, the cycle of the seasons, the cycle of life and more, and to encourage community gathering.

Tl’etinqox began to develop Elders Cabins in 2019 to honour the intentions, prayers, and needs of their Elders by providing safe and affordable living spaces for them to age in place, at the heart of the community. Elder tenancy applications opened for the cabins in September 2020.

Discover organizations from across Canada, and the rest of the world, who are contributing towards the gentle density movement and the delivery of homes that people want, need & deserve.

Name: ReHousing

About: ReHousing is a research initiative that explores how to convert single-family homes into multi-unit housing, using affordable, common-sense design to yield high-quality, well-designed space.

ReHousing is a collaboration between the University of Toronto, Tuf Lab and LGA Architectural Partners. This partnership brings together structured design research methods with practice-based knowledge to address real-world problems.

For more information: https://rehousing.ca/

Supporting the evolution of our single-detached neighbourhoods can be daunting, so Small Housing created the Gentle Density Network as a space where local government planners can tackle these collective challenges together.

Through the Gentle Density Webinar library, you can dive deep into the world of gentle density housing with insights from top experts from government, industry, and community sectors.

Explore cutting-edge practices, unpack emerging trends, and stay ahead of the curve with the latest gentle density insights. You can access the full library of webinars here, and can sign up to the Gentle Density Network here so as to stay informed on upcoming events.

Key insights:

Close is an innovative tool that maps walkable, bikeable, and transit-friendly neighborhoods block by block across the entire US. It is a useful travel time map for people who want to be near the amenities that matter most to them.

On it, users can filter by access to amenities like grocery stores, schools, doctors’ offices, and coffee shops.

Close is built and maintained by Henry Spatial Analysis. For full access to the map, click here.

Designers & Builders

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Are you a planner?

Do you have resources to share?

Are you a planner?

Do you have resources to share?