Growing supply is required to address the housing needs of Canadians. While policy gurus and pundits shout “build, build, build,” Dr. Barry Johns challenges us to think critically about “supply” and the way in which it is being pursued today in cities like Edmonton.
Dr. Barry Johns is a renowned architect, educator, design critic and educator with over 40 years of professional experience, much of it in Edmonton where he has been involved in notable building designs, among them the downtown campus of MacEwan University.
In the presentation and article linked to below, Dr. Johns steps into the fractious debate on the merits of upzoning and densification as a means for addressing the housing affordability crisis. Dr. Johns critically examines the powerful forces at play in our housing system, the distortions in land values that result, and implications for communities.
In doing so, he tackles the densification agenda head on. Johns reminds us that infill began as a movement to fill in underutilized spaces or “gaps” in our neighborhoods. But in practice it is out of touch with what people want: aging in place, family reunification, neighborhood diversity. In the article linked to below, Johns writes:
“Densification strategies across the continent are certainly varied, but all are largely predicated upon a developer entitlement model—to increase supply at all costs. What is missing is a fulsome prioritization around neighborhood revitalization—retention of viable existing housing stock, preserving streetscapes, tree canopies, parks and open space, addressing land cost and finally, tackling affordability” (p. 28).
In an effort to show that responsible, respectful and ‘gentle’ densification is indeed possible, Dr. Johns proposes what he calls the BAAKFIL Model. BAAKFIL stands for Back Alley Advantage, Kinship, Family and Integrated Living. The model is based on retention of existing serviceable housing stock, rather than demolition. According to Johns:
“The underlying urban message of a BAAKFIL development is to retain existing streetscapes and to enhance the defining characteristics of neighborhoods while filling in underutilized titled lots with more efficient use of land” (pg. 31).
Listen to Dr. Johns explain the reasoning behind his model in the video from Athabasca University and follow the link to his article explaining his concept of gentle density.