How do we build 1.5 million homes in the next 10 years?

In Toronto, demand for housing and low supply are causing home prices to soar. High demand and vacancy rates nearing pre-pandemic lows are driving rents to historic highs. “We are in a housing crisis!” writes leaders from BDP Quadrangle. “And with that crisis, we cannot underestimate the causal link to growing levels of community displacement, impoverishment and in extreme cases, homelessness. A major first step to reversing this crisis is to increase housing supply.”

To bring more homes to Ontario and to build them as fast as possible, the More Homes Built Faster Act (Bill 23) was introduced in late 2022, which sets a target to build 1.5 million homes in the next 10 years. To meet this challenge, we’d need to nearly double the number of homes started in 2022.

“If the goal is to get to 1.5 million homes, the vital question now is how,” notes BDP Quadrangle. “How can we ensure that we’re building in a way that is equitable and environmentally and socially sustainable? How can we embrace existing communities with a planning approach that is centred around quality of life?”

To address this question, they prepared a roadmap that synthesizes some of the core ideas needed to address the housing crisis. Their study proposes bringing together a cross-industry collective of skills, expertise, and resources. “It’s not just about delivering the numbers, it’s about delivering an attractive, equitable and sustainable urban model for the future,” they write.

“We’ve studied the potential and we believe that working within existing transit and planning frameworks, we can create complete communities in an environmentally and socially sustainable way that enhances quality of life.”

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