Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

This collaborative report from Happy Cities/ Hey Neighbour Collective summarizes discussions from municipal staff (planners & policymakers), developers, community organizations, and researcher perspectives on how to facilitate social connection in multi-unit housing.

Multi-unit residential buildings can help densify and increase housing supply in growing, land-constrained cities. If designed appropriately, multi-unit residences can also provide occupants the opportunity to lead more socially connected lives.

Key insights:

As the report outlines, elements for social connectedness were identified through group discussions, and included:

Tenure alternatives
Feeling safe
Having exposure to other tenants.

Supportive policies (e.g., exploring alternative ownership models) and design features (e.g., creating clusters of smaller amenity spaces) were articulated to help advance these outcomes.

Along with key challenges, a roadmap is articulated to help collective evidence and increase awareness of the importance of social connection, and pilot the proposed concepts in new housing projects.

The Housing Needs Assessment tool, developed by Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) & University of British Columbia provides a framework to compare housing needs across Canada.

Key insights:

The tool leverages census data to define the cost of affordable housing and the percentage of households with a core housing need for each area median household income category.
The tool additionally articulates the total affordable housing deficit in a given community based on income level and household size.
Households with a core housing need are further broken down by priority population (e.g., single mother households, Indigenous households, etc.).
Users can explore trends at the national, provincial, regional, and municipal level.

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This report from Salt Spring Solutions aims to bring together a comprehensive set of solutions to the housing crisis on Salt Spring Island.

Key insights:

Salt Spring Island’s housing challenges are currently exasperated by several factors, including sprawl, demographic changes and strained infrastructure capacity.

As this report details, Salt Spring Island looks to address these by establishing a local housing framework that advances five strategies:

Strategy 1: Coordinated and Properly Resourced Local Approach to Housing
Strategy 2: Effective Public Education, Engagement, and Dialogue on Housing.
Strategy 3: Preservation of Rural Areas and Nature Space through Clustered Housing.
Strategy 4: Readying Ganges Village for More Housing
Strategy 5: Accessory Dwellings for Housing, in the Right Places

Amongst the key policy actions recommended include:

creating an entity to oversee and coordinate interagency tasks,
developing a public education and engagement policy,
updating policy and zoning regulations to incentivize compact,
clustered housing development,
intensifying growth in the town centre,
and permitting ADUs for long-term occupancy.

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This report from Casita Coalition delves into key strategies and insights from both developer and municipal planner perspectives in advancing equity strategies as ADUs gain popularity and ease of construction across California.

Exploring Promising Practices for Equality in Housing Development

In the effort to promote equality and increase accessibility to housing options, municipal workers and housing developers are turning to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as a potential solution. This report from Casita Coalition delves into key strategies and insights from both developer and municipal planner perspectives to advance equity as ADUs gain popularity and ease of construction across California.

Overcoming Challenges & Equity Barriers to Ensure Equal Access to ADUs

Addressing equity barriers is crucial to fostering inclusivity in ADU development. This section examines the common hurdles, including a lack of reliable information, permitting challenges, upfront costs, and homeowner concerns about assuming the role of landlord.

Written for Casita Coalition by Lin Chin of Ground Works Consulting, with support from Jennifer Duffy of Hello Housing, Renee Schomp of Napa Sonoma ADU Center, and Miriam Zuk and Saneta deVuono-powell of Ground Works Consulting.

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

Key insights:

Are you a planner?

Do you have resources to share?

Key insights:

Are you a planner?

Do you have resources to share?

Key insights:

Are you a planner?

Do you have resources to share?

Written for Casita Coalition by Lin Chin of Ground Works Consulting, with support from Jennifer Duffy of Hello Housing, Renee Schomp of Napa Sonoma ADU Center, and Miriam Zuk and Saneta deVuono-powell of Ground Works Consulting.

Are you a planner?

Do you have resources to share?