CHRN Thematic Research Teams

Community Housing Canada

at home in the north

people, places, policies, prospects

Balanced Supply of Housing

Aging in the Right Place

Community Housing Canada

Building a Resilient Community Housing Sector in Canada

Principal Investigator.

Dr. Damian Collins, University of Alberta

Many low- and moderate-income families in Canada struggle to access affordable, safe and adequate housing. Home ownership is priced out of their reach in many regions, and renting in the private market consumes an increasing proportion of their incomes. In this context, the community housing sector has a key role to play in meeting housing needs. Accounting for 16% of all rental units in Canada, this sector includes diverse government, not- for-profit and co-operative providers. It insulates tenants from the commodification of housing and provides vital access to affordable units, including through rents-geared -to-income. The sector also faces a range of complex pressures. Demand for community housing is growing due to affordability challenges, and becoming more diverse due to changing household types. Providers are increasingly expected to meet goals of social inclusion and improved environmental performance, often with limited human resources capacity. Asset management is a complex task. with expiring operating agreements, aging stock and significant deferred maintenance. In addition, research on the sector is modest, with relatively little work considering how best to respond to these challenges.

 

The goal of this one-year partnership is to identify what is required to build a resilient and sustainable community housing sector in Canada. Drawing on the knowledge and capacity of the sector itself, we will pursue four specific objectives:

  1. To develop consensus on substantive definitions of ‘resilience’ and ‘sustainability’ as they apply to community housing;
  2. To identify ways for providers to improve their resilience and sustainability, and measure their impacts of their initiatives;
  3. To conceptualize how the National Housing Strategy will shape the sector;
  4. To decide on research priorities for community housing over the next five years.

To pursue these objectives and inform practice in the community housing sector, we will employ the Café Pracadémique model as both methodology and knowledge mobilization approach. Drawing on traditions of public intellectualism and interdisciplinary cooperation, Café Pracadémique engages practitioners, policy makers, scholars and citizens in conversation about issues of shared interest and concern. It will be utilized as a forum for developing knowledge in an interdisciplinary field that currently lacks a cohesive understanding of key concepts, challenges and practices. It will also provide a platform for articulating and sharing that knowledge in ways that are accessible and meaningful to diverse participants, including community housing providers, on whom much of the responsibility for innovation and sustainability in the sector rests.

At Home in the North

New Partners in Northern Housing and Homes

Principal Investigator

Dr. Julia Christensen, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

The principal aim of this project is to build new and innovative partnerships to address a series of identified challenges for northern regions and communities working to alleviate homelessness and housing insecurity. The project is divided into six thematic focus areas, which were identified as priority areas by communities: supportive housing models, governance, northern housing design, programs and services, health, and metrics.

This project has three interrelated objectives:

  1. Identify knowledge gaps on northern homelessness and housing insecurity;
  2. Mobilize knowledge on northern homelessness and housing insecurity; and
  3. Identify opportunities for adapting housing and housing-related social service policies, programs and models for northern contexts.

For communities across the Canadian North, housing insecurity is an undeniable public policy priority and human rights issue. Communities report increasing social concerns resulting from the lack of quality housing and the rise of northerners experiencing hidden and/or visible forms of homelessness. Local governments and non-governmental organizations are actively involved in collaborative efforts to understand the contributing factors to homelessness, and work to provide necessary housing programs and services. Despite these efforts, research engagements with northern and Indigenous communities reveal deepening frustrations over a lack of funding, the limited housing and social services spectrum in northern communities, and the challenges of implementing southern policy and programs in northern contexts. These frustrations are compounded by a sense of isolation from territorial/provincial/federal governments as well as from other northern communities, and difficulties in connecting community- and university-led research with meaningful policy and programs.

The realization of the aim and objectives of this project necessitates interdisciplinary involvement from a range of researchers and practitioners working in direct, sustained collaboration with northern and Indigenous communities. The core partnership formed through this project is comprised of community- and university-based researchers and collaborators from non-governmental organizations, Indigenous governments and communities, municipal governments and provincial/territorial governments, and private sector stakeholders. Each project partner has experience leading innovative housing-relate research, participating in community-led research, and working with creative, community-based, and strengths-based research methods.

Outcomes of this partnership include both scholarly and societal outcomes, including: sharing and mobilization of knowledge from across a wide breadth of researcher and community experiences and disciplines; creation of new and enhanced research methodologies to identify opportunities for adapting housing policies, programs and models for northern contexts; contributing to the theoretical and practical understandings of homelessness and insecurity across the provincial and territorial norths; and, connecting disparate and isolated community and university-based research efforts to create a comprehensive and holistic way forward in culturally-relevant responses to housing insecurity.

People, Places, Policies, Prospects

Principal Investigator

Dr. Catherine Leviten-Reid, Cape Breton University

How do programs designed to make housing more affordable make a difference in the lives of the low-income Canadians who participate in them? We bring together a team of nationally- and internationally-recognized researchers from disciplines including housing studies, gender studies, sociology, social policy, community health and epidemiology, and community economic development, as well as community organizations involved in housing and poverty reduction, and two municipalities.

The context of our study is this: currently, a range of programs help low-income Canadians with housing affordability, and many of these will be strengthened through the National Housing Strategy. These programs include rent-geared-to-income (RGI) stock (such as public housing) and rent supplements (which are provided directly to landlords to help bridge the gap between 30% of income and shelter costs). Housing allowances are a third example, which are similar to supplements, although financial assistance is provided directly to tenants so they can live in market or community housing.

In the National Housing Strategy, programs like these are stated to result in positive social and economic benefits (also called outcomes) for those who receive them. The problem, however, is that the benefits that tenants may, in fact, experience as a result of receiving such assistance have received little attention in Canada. In addition, we do not understand how different programs (e.g., RGI units, rent supplements, housing allowances) may result in distinctive outcomes. This is surprising, especially since policy development is increasingly based on evidence. It is precisely this gap our team intends to fill as one of the research nodes within the Collaborative Housing Research Network.

Balanced Supply of Housing

Principal Investigator

Alex Flynn, University of British Columbia

Housing for Canada’s population has reached crisis proportions in many parts of the country, especially in major urban centres, with rampant homelessness and significant mismatches between the cost of housing and average incomes. We will help reduce these problems by convening a critical mass of interdisciplinary academics and multi-sectoral partners from throughout Canada’s housing sectors. Our Node will produce cutting-edge research and mobilize knowledge to support policy decision-making at all levels of government, including for the NHS, thereby bridging gaps between research evidence and housing outcomes.

Our examination of the balanced supply of housing will be guided by four overarching questions. Does the housing system have:

  1. The right balance of housing tenures (i.e. rent, ownership, co-op, social, etc.)?
  2. The right balance of built form and location (i.e. sub/urban, apartment, townhome, detached)?
  3. The right balance of cost and type relative to local earnings (versus outside investment or short-term rental demand)?
  4. What evidence is there that any current (im)balances in housing markets affect population health, demographic engagement and/or economic stability?

Our Node will integrate theoretical frames from health, indigenous studies, economics, and community planning and root these frameworks in feminist gender and community-based research principles. We will rely on a combination of methods informed by our various disciplines, including quantitative and spatial data analysis, econometric modeling, health in all policies analysis, qualitative and ethnographic methods of participatory action and field work, along with innovative public participation and design research methods. Our research questions and team are designed to both generate and mobilize knowledge through community research co-creation. Our knowledge mobilization activities will be guided by the Advocacy Coalition Framework, which has been implemented and refined by one of our lead community partners.

Our team will begin gaps analyses that explore the current housing supply — across tenure, built form, cost, and demand type — to assess current and future needs of res idents in major urban areas within BC, Ontario and Quebec, with the intention to extend to other provinces and smaller communities in subsequent years.

Our team will set up partnerships in the next year to explore land trusts or leases, purpose-built rental, more sustainable and appropriate secondary rental, co-ops, indigenous land tenure. social and supportive housing, public and non-profit housing, and community housing. We will begin to assemble an annotated database of policy options, which will be a living document that we update with future phases of the Node’s activity.

In light of rising prices in Canada’s most desirable cities, numerous policies have been enacted at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels to attack supply and demand forces deemed to cause high prices. Where feasible, we will assess the impacts of these policies by evaluating quasi-experiments and case studies stemming from policy changes that affect some but not all jurisdictions, or differences in policies/practices between like jurisdictions, so that we can deploy methods that isolate cause from correlation.

Central Coordinating Committee

Alex Flynn 
Academic Co-chair
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC

Andrés Penaloza 
Community Co-chair
B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association
Vancouver, BC

Knowledge Mobilization Committee

Julie Mah
Academic Co-chair
University of Toronto
Toronto, BC

Cheryll Case
Community Co-chair
CP Planning
Toronto, ON

Reshaping the Financialization of Housing Working Group

Alan Walks
Academic Co-chair
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON

Tom Davidoff
Academic Co-chair
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC

Victor Willis
Community Co-chair
Parkdale Activity – Recreation Centre
Toronto, ON

David Wachsmuth 
Academic co-chair
McGill University
Montreal, QC 

Innovating in Responsive Land Practices

Penny Gurstein 
Academic Co-chair
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC 

Nik Luka
Academic Co-chair
University of McGill
Montreal, QC

Nathan Lauster
Academic Co-chair
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC 

Joshua Barndt
Community Co-chair
Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust
Toronto, ON
 

Adam Mongrain 
Community Co-chair
Vivre en Ville
Montreal, QC 

Organizations Representative Location
Aboriginal Housing Management Association Nizar Laarif West Vancouver, BC
Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario Magda Barrera Toronto, ON
Association for Generational Equity Eric Swanson Victoria, BC
British Columbia Non-Profit Housing Association Brian Clifford Vancouver, BC
Evergreen Isabel Cascante Toronto, ON
Kensington Market Community Land Trust Kevin Barret Toronto, ON
Parkdale Activity – Recreation Centre (Toronto) Victor Willis Toronto, ON
Réseau québécois des OSBL d’habitation Jacques Beaudoin Montreal, QC
Ryerson City Building Institute Claire Pfeiffer Toronto, ON
The Neighbourhood Land Trust Joshua Barndt Toronto, ON
University of Waterloo Ruth Knetchel Waterloo, ON
Wellesley Institute Greg Suttor Toronto, ON
West Neighbourhood House Lynne Woolcott Toronto, ON
Name Organization Co-Investigator
Alan Walks University of Toronto Yes
Alex Schwartz New School No
Alexandra Flynn University of British Columbia Yes
Amy Khare National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities No
Andy Yan Simon Fraser University No
Erika Sagert BC Non-Profit Housing Association No
Cherise Burda Ryerson City Building Institute No
Cheryll Case CP Planning No
Claire Pfeiffer Ryerson City Building No
Cliff Grant Aboriginal Housing Management Association No
Craig Jones Housing Research Collaborative No
David Hulchanski University of Toronto No
David Ley University of British Columbia No
David Wachsmuth McGill University Yes
Elvin Wyly University of British Columbia No
Eric Swanson GenSqueeze No
Isabel Cascante Evergreen No
Jacques Beaudoin Réseau Québécois des OSBL d’Habitation No
Jean-Philippe Meloche University of Montreal Yes
Joshua Barndt Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust No
Joshua Gordon Simon Fraser University No
Kathleen Scanlon London School of Economics No
Kevin Barrett Kensington Market Community Land Trust No
Lu Han University of Toronto Yes
Lynne Woolcott West Neighbourhood House No
Magda Barrera Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario No
Maged Senbel University of British Columbia No
Marika Albert BC Non-Profit Housing Association No
Mark Joseph Case Western Reserve University No
Markus Moos University of Waterloo No
Martine August University of Waterloo Yes
Nathanael Lauster University of British Columbia Yes
Nicole Gurran University of Sydney No
Nik Luka McGill University Yes
Paul Kershaw University of British Columbia Yes
Penny Gurstein Housing Research Collaborative Yes
Scott Leon Wellesley Institute No
Sheryl Staub-French University of British Columbia No
Susannah Bunce University of Toronto Yes
Thomas Davidoff University of British Columbia Yes
Victor Willis Parkdale Activity – Recreation Centre No

Comparative Projects

 Filling the Gaps in Housing: Tracking Legislative Responses to COVID-19 in Emergency Housing Initiatives

  • Principal Investigator: Alex Flynn (UBC)
  • Co-Investigators: Tom Davidoff (UBC), Penny Gurstein (UBC), Nik Luka (McGill), Alan Walks (U of T)
  • Research Themes: Reshaping the Financialization of Housing / Innovating in Responsive Land Practices
  • Funding Window: August 2020

Do higher home prices hurt or help child vulnerability? A multi-level study of home prices, earnings and Early Development Instrument (EDI) data across Canadian regions and provinces.

  • Principal Investigator: Paul Kershaw (UBC)
  • Co-Investigator: Magdalena Janus (McMaster), Eric Duku (McMaster), Nazeem Muhajarine (U Sask), Marni Brownell (U Manitoba), Martin Guhn (UBC), Barry Forer (UBC)
  • Research Theme: Reshaping the Financialization of Housing
  • Funding Window: August 2020

Assessing the Impact of Short-term Rentals on Canada’s Housing Supply

  • Principal Investigator: David Wachsmuth (McGill)
  • Research Theme: Reshaping the Financialization of Housing
  • Funding Window: August 2020

New Directions in Affordability-Focused Land Policy and Practice

  • Principal Investigator: Penny Gurstein (UBC)
  • Research Theme: Innovating in Responsive Land Practices
  • Funding Window: August 2020

Indigenizing Supportive Housing: The Dual Model of Housing Care.

  • Principal Investigator: Penny Gurstein (UBC)
  • Co-Investigators: Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi (ACEH)
  • Community Partner: Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness
  • Research Themes: Innovating in Responsive Land Practices
  • Funding Window: November 2020 

Community-focused Projects

 Partna Housing – Scattered Housing Trust Model Design

  • Principal Investigator: Cheryll Case (CP Planning)
  • Co-Investigators: Alan Walks (U of T), Susannah Bunce (U of T)
  • Research Themes: Reshaping the Financialization of Housing
  • Funding Window: August 2020

Expansion of Laneway Homes in Vancouver: household acceptance and builders’ choices

  • Principal Investigator: Tom Davidoff (UBC)
  • Co-Investigators: Tsur Somerville (UBC), Andrey Pavlov (SFU)
  • Research Themes: Innovating in Responsive Land Practices
  • Funding Window: August 2020

A Community Action Research Project on Tower Rentals in Parkdale

  • Principal Investigator: Joshua Barndt (NLT)
  • Co-Investigators: Martine August (Waterloo), Scott Leon (Wellesley Insitute)
  • BSH Community Partners: The Neighbourhood Land Trust, Parkdale People’s Economy / PARC
  • Research Themes: Innovating in Responsive Land Practices
  • Funding Window: August 2020

Community Capacity Building in Community Land Trusts for Affordable Housing: An Action Research Study of the Kensington Market Community Land Trust, Toronto

  • Principal Investigator: Susannah Bunce (U of T)
  • BSH Community Partners: Dominique Russell and Kevin Barrett, Kensington Market Community Land Trust
  • Research Themes: Innovating in Responsive Land Practices
  • Funding Window: August 2020

Studying Montreal’s financialization of multi-family rental housing: Spatiality, local specificity and empirical methodology

  • Principal Investigator: Cloe St-Hilarie (RCLALQ)
  • Co-Investigators: David Wachsmuth (McGill)
  • Community Partner: RCLALQ
  • Research Themes: Reshaping the Financialization of Housing
  • Funding Window: November 2020

Strategies for improving access to safe, clean, affordable housing during beyond COVID-19: A case study of Lachine

  • Principal Investigator: Nik Luka (McGill)
  • Co-Investigators: Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi (ACEH)
  • Community Partner: Table habitation de Lachine
  • Research Themes: Innovating in Responsive Land Practices
  • Funding Window: November 2020

Urban Indigenous Housing in British Columbia: Municipal responses through housing policy and plans

  • Principal Investigator: Margaret Low (UBC)
  • Co-Investigators: Penny Gurstein (UBC)
  • BSH Community Partners: Aboriginal Housing Management Association
  • Research Themes: Innovating in Responsive Land Practices
  • Funding Window: November 2020

Aging in the Right Place

Principal Investigator

Dr. Sarah Canham, Simon Fraser University

Canada’s older homeless population is rising at alarming rates and remains largely invisible in research, policy, and practice domains. On the one hand, homelessness programming continues to target youth and chronic homelessness through rapid rehousing models. On the other hand, aging in place strategies are based largely on the assumption of stable housing. Consequently, few appropriate supportive housing options have been developed and evaluated for the diverse population of older people experiencing homelessness (OPEH). There is an urgent need to build capacity in order to develop additional supportive housing that meets the complex health and social needs of this growing population of OPEH across Canada.

To address these gaps, the aims of this project are to:

  1. Develop a 3-City Promising Practice Supportive Housing Network comprised of an interdisciplinary team of researchers, housing, health, and social service providers, and older people with lived experiences of homelessness;
  2. Identify Promising Practices for housing and shelter design, health, and social services, and income supports that promote aging in the right place;
  3. Establish Identity Markers (gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, ability/disability) that affect OPEH’s ability to age in the right place;
  4. Co-Create a comprehensive research proposal that identifies key case study sites to be evaluated in Phase 2 of the proposed Project by identifying promising practice models of housing and supports that could be scaled up in future research.

The developmental stage of this project will inform a more extensive, in-depth pan-Canadian program of research with the overarching objective of ensuring all Canadians, regardless of income, have the choice to age in the right place across the housing continuum, with dignity and respect.

Expected outcomes include an improved understanding or gaps in the housing sector for OPEH, knowledge sharing, opportunities to scale up successful housing models and fostering meaningful engagement amongst interdisciplinary stakeholders across Canada.