When you have an already densely populated city like Toronto, creating more housing is not an easy thing to do. Constant population growth in Canada (increasing at 3% per year) has caused Toronto, the largest city, to be in an extreme housing crisis. This problem has been brewing steadily for the past two decades already, and likely won't be fixed even if we gave it two more decades to solve it.
One of the ways the city has responded to the housing affordability crisis is by introducing the Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) program by intensifying existing land. First was the laneway suite, and then came the garden suite. Now we are allowed multiplexes and eliminated single-family zoning, and recently, rooming houses are now allowed. I wanted to talk about the latest evolution, the city allowing small apartment buildings on major streets in Toronto.
I couldn't find a better person to talk to than Craig Race, one of the first people to bring laneway suites to reality in Toronto. Join us as we go through the cost benefits of each of these different housing typologies, noting the financial and regulatory challenges involved.
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