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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: Strong Towns

About: Strong Towns is a dynamic nonprofit committed to reshaping urban development paradigms. Their vision is clear: make the Strong Towns Approach the default for growth, development, and prosperity in every city, town, and neighborhood.

Their mission is ambitious—replace the post-war Suburban Experiment with financially robust and resilient development. They advocate for cities of all sizes to be safe, livable, and inviting, elevating local governments to collaborative hubs.

For more information: Explore their work on gentle density & missing middle housing, or if you’re interested in broader urban matters, head to their homepage here.

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: Association of Bay Area Governments

About: The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) defines itself as “part regional planning agency and part local government service provider.” It has a mission to strengthen cooperation and collaboration across local governments in California to build healthier, stronger communities and strives to accomplish their goals by providing planning services and cost-effective ABAG member services to local governments struggling with rising costs and diminishing incomes.

The public is invited to all ABAG meetings and has access to the same tools and research, with a focus on a broad range of policy areas, including the delivery of gentle density & missing middle housing.

For more information: Head to their website.

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: The Terner Center for Housing Innovation

About: The mission of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California at Berkeley is to formulate bold strategies to house families from all walks of life in vibrant, sustainable, and affordable homes and communities.

Established in 2015, the organisation has quickly become a leading voice in identifying, developing, and advancing innovative public and private sector solutions to the nation’s most intractable housing challenges.

Their work provides timely analysis and data-driven research to support policy and innovation for policymakers, practitioners, and advocates in addressing with urgency the multiple, layered crises of housing affordability, entrenched inequities, and climate change. The Terner Center aims to provide actionable, pragmatic paths that are based in evidence and can bring together a coalition to make change, including in the field of gentle density & missing middle housing.

For more information: Head to their website.

On this useful resource page from the City of San Jose, users can explore a comprehensive resource library to support research and insights into the city’s promotion of ADUs as a means of addressing housing challenges.

Key insights:

ADUs are an affordable type of home to construct in California because they do not require paying for land, major new infrastructure, structured parking, or elevators.
ADUs can provide a source of income for homeowners.
ADUs are built with cost-effective wood frame construction, which is significantly less costly than homes in new multifamily infill buildings.
ADUs allow extended families to be near one another while maintaining privacy.
ADUs can provide as much living space as many newly-built apartments and condominiums, and they’re suited well for couples, small families, friends, young people, and seniors.
ADUs give homeowners the flexibility to share independent living areas with family members and others, allowing seniors to age in place as they require more care.

This webinar from January 2024, hosted by the Congress of New Urbanism, provides a useful overview of some of the key challenges posed by pre-approved designs for gentle density homes, but also detailed the many benefits that these can bring to a community.

Featuring insights from Edward Erfurt, Director of Community Action at Strong Towns, Jennifer Krouse of Liberty House Plans, & Allison Thurmond Quinlan, principal architect and landscape architect with Flintlock LAB (who also presented at the Small Housing Gentle Density Leaders Summit 2024).

As this accompanying CNU article outlines, the panel described the many benefits of pre-approved plans, including:

Increasing community familiarity and understanding of missing middle housing types, like small apartment buildings, duplexes, and accessory dwelling units
Encouraging higher quality design so that small developers proposing similar projects will have an easier time. If housing is expedited, there is a risk that low-quality design will boost opposition. A collection of context-sensitive building plans offers greater predictability because the architectural review is complete, Krouse says.
The programs are designed to reduce regulatory friction in a housing delivery system that many people recognize is overly complex. This helps to level the playing field between small and large developers, the latter of which have developed ways around bureaucratic red tape.

The famous “Painted Ladies of San Francisco", otherwise known as “Postcard Row" or the “Seven Sisters", are a row of colorful Victorian houses located at 710–720 Steiner Street, across from Alamo Square.

Navigate the complex landscape of America’s housing crisis with insights from The Pew Charitable Trusts’ housing policy initiative.

As housing costs soar and millions struggle, Pew sheds light on how regulations and statutes contribute to the shortage and rising prices.

Key insights:

Discover how Pew’s research guides policymakers in reimagining housing approaches, creating pathways for more Americans to access affordable and secure housing solutions.
Pew analyses outdated financial regulations, focusing on expanding access to small mortgages and ensuring safer non-mortgage financing.
From videos, to fact sheets, to policy briefings, this is an excellent resource hub for anyone interested in learning more about policies to address the generational housing crisis we face.

Discover Portland’s vision for equitable growth in its neighborhoods.

Key insights:

By 2035, the city anticipates significant household growth, necessitating a reassessment of housing regulations. Facing a housing shortage amidst rising costs, the proposed changes aim to:

Diversify housing options by permitting duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes, while introducing size and scale limitations.
Promote community inclusivity and addresses evolving housing demands, emphasizing collaborative efforts for positive change.

Dive into the City of Portland’s housing project report to understand how these strategic changes align with the city’s dynamic future.

The Association of Bay Area Governments, based out of San Francisco, California, has developed a series of useful resources to support local planners in their communication efforts in advocating for the adoption and delivery of Gentle Density Housing. These include videos, presentations, and simple “fast fact” style messaging guidelines.

Key resources include:

Please note: While the resources listed here are free to download, some of the resources contained within the website’s library are behind member/pay walls.

Download (PDF)

Explore the comprehensive “Missing Middle Housing Study” in Sacramento, a data-driven citywide effort addressing housing choices, walkable living, and attainable housing needs at all income levels.

Key insights:

The report puts suggested steps need to be taken to help deliver more attainable housing.

A critical step is to increase the delivery of housing at all income levels, but in a manner that is sustainable and feasible, and does not adversely impact existing infrastructure capacities (of roads, utilities, etc.) and the quality of life of existing residents.
A critical strategy is to streamline and encourage the production of smaller, simpler, less complicated and less expensive housing projects in areas that have existing infrastructure and amenities. Missing Middle Housing can fulfill this requirement, and provide an efficient way to meet this pent up demand.

This vital report informs Sacramento’s long-term planning and housing policies, prioritizing affordability, equity, and access while addressing displacement risks and proposing measures to preserve the unique character of established neighborhoods.

Further to the report, you can stay up to date with all of Sacramento’s Missing Middle Housing developments by checking out their dedicated website.

Download (PDF)

Key insights:

The City of South Bend recognized that the community needed to have more housing, and at the same time, bring neighbourhoods back to life. There were around 400 vacant lots in one of the city’s neighbourhoods (Near Northwest Neighbourhood) alone.

In June, 2022, Mayor James Mueller announced the New Neighborhood Homes Initiative. The main goal of this initiative is to build more homes that South Benders can afford and to ensure well-designed infill housing on vacant land that will increase the marketability of those neighbourhoods. Furthermore, housing market studies also revealed a growing mismatch between the available housing stock of large single-family homes and a shift in demographic trends towards smaller households that prefer walkable neighborhoods.

This Small Housing Case study explores how the City recognized that fostering more diverse housing options could play an important role in meeting those needs and creating a high quality of life for residents.

United States

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