Ongoing Activities
→ Working Groups
Building on the work from the Pivot, the AHSL has developed 2 working groups:
Housing Supply
● Protecting-Enhancing-Growing
Non-Market Housing
● Creating an inventory of accessible rental accommodation in the non-market sector
→ Meets every 2 months
Housing Data
To address our current housing crisis we need to monitor our progress (UN 2019). As a 1st step:
● Apply and measure the 7 criteria required for adequate housing in Edmonton
● Create baseline adequate housing data
● Create an adequate housing dashboard
→ Meets each month
To learn more about one or both of these working groups, please send an email to houselab@ualberta.ca
→ Right to Housing Series
◦ Since 1948 (p1), “The right to adequate housing has been [internationally] recognized as a fundamental human right because it is integral to core human rights values such as dignity, equality, inclusion, well-being, security of the person and public participation (p4).”
◦ In 2019 the Federal Government passed the National Housing Strategy Act, legislating the right to adequate housing as a “fundamental human right” (NHSA)
So what does the right to adequate housing in international human rights law and federal legislation mean for individuals and households in Edmonton who are unable to access adequate housing?
This ongoing series explores:
How can the right to adequate housing actually be claimable?
What are the ways we are actually able to realize the right to housing?
Upcoming Events
Tuesday May 23, 12:00pm – 1:15pm on Zoom
AHSL’s findings on the financialization of housing / National Housing Council’s request
Are you a tenant living in Edmonton, part of an organization concerned with housing, and/or are you a general member of the public wanting to understand what’s really going on with housing in Edmonton? Do you also want to take action on this issue?
The financialization of housing has created a totally different relationship to housing than people have had in the past, where local housing is not owned by local people in a local community. This has also been identified as a key driver of our housing crisis.
→ The AHSL estimates 48% of purpose built rental suites in Edmonton are financialized
All are invited to the AHSL’s next event in our Right to Housing Series to learn more about:
1) The AHSL’s recent findings on the financialization of purpose built rental housing in Edmonton
2) What this means for Edmonton
3) Taking action on this issue by sending a submission to the National Housing Council (due June 23)
*We kindly ask all attending to respect and uphold our Core Principles*
Please review the AHSL’s Core Principles ahead of the event (click on the photo on the right):
→ Stay up to date with the state of financialization of housing in Edmonton, and with the AHSL.
Check back here periodically for more upcoming opportunities to attend future AHSL events.
Recent Events
Can a ‘social innovation lab’ approach advance the human right to housing?
Reflecting on the Affordable Housing Solutions Lab experience in Edmonton
Friday February 10, 12:00pm – 1:10pm, Tory 3-36
Scientific laboratories are a quintessential part of any university campus. Typically associated with the physical sciences, laboratories are increasingly being mobilized by social scientists and humanities scholars as conceptual spaces for addressing complex social policy problems. This turn to laboratories in the social sciences and humanities has generated a variety of labs that operate at the interface of knowledge, public policy, research and community. The laboratory approach has found numerous applications in addressing so-called ‘wicked problems’ such as poverty and homelessness, including here at the U of A where the Affordable Housing Solutions Lab (AHSL) was established in 2019.
This presentation will explore experiences linked to the AHSL’s experimentation with one distinct approach, the ‘social innovation lab.’ A social innovation lab brings diverse stakeholders together who work collaboratively to address complex social problems. In 2021-2022, the AHSL established a social innovation lab called The Pivot. This social innovation lab was unique in the way it integrated a human rights-based approach and in the way community participants used this approach to identify a list of actions that would, if implemented, address Edmonton’s housing crisis. This presentation will highlight the outcomes of this community-based work and then reflect on the limitations and potential of using social innovation labs to address the challenge of housing injustice.
How can we work to ensure all Edmontonians have access to safe and affordable housing?
January 17, 6:30pm-8:00pm MST
All are invited to attend this upcoming virtual event organized by the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues
(EFCL):
We’re excited to explore how we – as a city and a community of communities – can work to ensure all Edmontonians have access to safe and affordable housing.
What questions should we ask about equity, affordability, liveability and building inclusive communities?
We’ll hear from subject matter experts and from Leagues that are active in this discussion. You can expect to hear from:
Tim Senger (Highlands Community League), who will talk about an exciting grassroots approach to caring for members of our own communities using the assets available in our neighbourhoods. We will hear about the At Home In The Highlands concept, its origins and the possibilities in 2023 and beyond.
Jeffrey Ku (City of Edmonton), who will talk about the current state of housing in the city, with a focus on the city-wide affordable housing strategy.
Laura Murphy (University of Alberta), who will talk about the pioneering Affordable Housing Solutions Lab, her research and some of the key topics we should consider when we talk about, advocate for and engage our communities on housing.
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/your-leagues-role-in-housing-mentorship-cafe-tickets-386147657037
Realizing the Right To Housing Together:
Tenant Organizing
November 30, 7:00pm-8:15pm MST
Would you like to learn more about our housing crisis — and how tenants are organizing in response to this?
Tenant empowerment is one way to access the right to adequate housing, and can be in many forms — including tenant organizing. Yet tenants rarely organize, even in places where there is a legal right to form tenant associations.
As part of our Right to Housing series, the Affordable Housing Solutions Lab (AHSL) invites all who are interested to join us for Realizing the Right To Housing Together: Tenant Organizing – a virtual panel
on Wednesday November 30, 2022 from 7:00pm – 8:15pm MST
on Zoom
This event explores where and how tenants have been organizing and mobilizing in Canada — featuring representatives from:
- Hamilton Tenants Solidarity Network
- Alberta ACORN
- Herongate Tenant Coalition
- Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario
We kindly ask all attending and participating to respect and uphold our AHSL Principles (please review ahead of event here)
For more information:
Hamilton Tenants Solidarity Network
https://radicalhousingjournal.org/2019/rent-striking-the-reit/
https://www.facebook.com/hamiltontenantssolidarity/
Alberta ACORN
https://acorncanada.org/locations/alberta-acorn/
Herongate Tenant Coalition
https://herongatetenants.ca/
https://leveller.ca/2021/12/a-framework-for-destruction/
Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario
https://www.acto.ca/