If our effort to build millions of additional housing units ignores the climate consequences, we won’t truly achieve affordability
Mark Carney is chair of the Canada 2020 Advisory Board, United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Change and Finance, and a member of Canada’s Task Force for Housing & Climate.
Given the two major concerns for today’s young people – housing affordability and climate change – I believe it is now up to Gen X to follow his example and get the job done. After all, climate change and housing affordability aren’t just solvable problems; there are also common solutions that apply to both. Politicians at every level of government should take note and take action.according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, if we hope to achieve affordability.
is faster, less costly and more climate-friendly. To enable building in these areas, we need to legalize density. It simply must be easier for a home builder to turn a 75-year-old bungalow into a cluster of townhouses, or an aging strip mall into a modern and affordable mid-rise apartment complex. To do that, governments should eliminate unit maximums, abolish parking minimums and allow taller buildings and more density near transit lines “as-of-right.
Third, we need to innovate in how we build. In Sweden, more than 80 per cent of detached homes are built using factory-made components. Here, we are still basically building homes one nail at a time. Scaling up factory-built housing could speed up construction times, reduce costs and fast-track climate-smart features. Other housing-construction innovations, such as low-carbon concrete and mass timber, are potential game-changers, and Canada’s resource industry can take the lead.
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