“This was meant to fix the housing crisis…” [Video]

Publication date: November 2023

Over the past number of years, we have seen more and more cities across North America change their zoning bylaws to allow for more housing. In Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, Minneapolis, and states like Oregon and California to name just a few, cities are legalizing “missing middle” housing like laneway houses, multiplexes, and row houses to add more density to single family neighbourhoods.

Yet simply legalizing this important kind of housing does not necessarily mean that it will be built.

With this in mind, Small Housing teamed up with Uytae Lee and the team at About Here to produce a video to help shed light on what is preventing more forms of gentle density housing from emerging, and what can be done to overcome these barriers and deliver the types of homes that people want, need, and deserve. Uytae delves into the obstacles hindering the development of Missing Middle housing, such as height and lot restrictions, additional rules for increased density, and financial viability challenges. His reporting also helps viewers gain insights into cities, including Auckland, where successful Missing Middle projects have been delivered.