Innovative solutions to affordable housing challenges

Partnerships for Affordable Housing: Policy, Planning and Community Building

About this Award Winning Research

Partnerships for Affordable Housing: Policy, Planning and Community Building focuses on the role of multi-sector partnerships in developing innovative solutions to affordable housing challenges. The research focuses on mixed-income and mixed-tenure projects in large Canadian cities.

Activities completed through this research include:

Organizing several events, including an international conference and public forum.
Launching a network of housing practitioners and academics.
Developing a web-based platform, or hub for network members to collaborate on innovative housing solutions.
Identification of new policy instruments, best practices and learnings from international experiences.

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Partnerships can play an important role in meeting the housing needs of low-income households. Collaboration can maximize efficiencies, and minimize dependence on resources and public subsidies.
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A collaborative approach can co-create practical solutions and policy change. The research team’s international conference, public panels and design exhibition resulted in the first research/practice network on partnerships for affordable housing in Canada that includes academics and practitioners.
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It is important for research results to be tangible. Results and learnings should transfer to practical, “on the ground” use, with the goal of improving housing outcomes for low-income households.

What was the research methodology?

The main goals of this research were to:

Address knowledge gaps over a 2-year period to further knowledge and solutions to housing challenges by collaborating with local, national and international experts.
Analyze evidence-based research from best practices by scholars worldwide and apply the learnings to Canada.
Launch a network of practitioners and academics to share experiences and best practices and co-create solutions.
Apply research findings in a practical way to make a difference in Canadian communities.

The research team completed these activities:

literature review
analysis of case studies
stakeholder mapping
key informant interviews
networking
agent based partnership models

As part of this research, the team organized several events, including an international conference and public forum held in 2018 at the University of Calgary. In 2019, the research team organized more international events to build on the network’s work.

How will this research help?

The research team has made outcomes of this project available through:

a series of research papers on innovative mixed-income affordable housing models in conference proceedings
2 peer reviewed journal articles
Presentations on You Tube from 40 housing scholars and practitioners from the 2018 international conference
a web-based catalogue of a multi-media design exhibition of 25 award-winning social housing projects from Europe promoting innovative design, plans and models

These resources are useful to:

Canadian and international scholars working on affordable housing issues
municipal policymakers
planners
housing stakeholders in the public, non-profit and private sectors
students and academics

The network launched at the 2018 international conference will continue its work to co-develop solutions for Canadian communities.

Research Status

The Affordable Housing Partnership was funded by a SSHRC grant , with matching contributions from community partners. It also received a Gold Roof Award, which will support the network to continue its activities.

The Affordable Housing Partnership is relevant to researchers and other housing stakeholders interested in working collaboratively to develop solutions to housing challenges .

Project Team: Sasha Tsenkova

Award received: 2019 CMHC President’s Medal for Outstanding Housing Research

Location: School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape, University of Calgary, Calgary

Project Collaborators / Partners:
University of Calgary, City of Calgary, City of Edmonton, Calgary Affordable Housing Collective (CHAC), Haskayne School of Business, Real Estate Centre, University of Calgary, Alberta Real Estate Foundation, Edmonton Capital Region Housing, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Watch the open access proceeding and conference presentations on YouTube