Elizabeth Ho OAM’s Post

Last week's UrbanToronto.ca and Buildings Canada webinar sparked many interesting and productive conversations. One point stood out to me: how do we define affordable housing? Here’s my take: The definition of affordable housing varies depending on who you’re talking to. For instance, developers, government officials, and the general population often have different perspectives. In Ontario the baseline definition is that affordable housing should cost no more than 30% of a household’s income. However, many other costs associated with living in a home are often left out of the calculation. Think about heating, hydro, maintenance and transportation...  expenses that depend on how and where a home is built. While housing is the largest expense for most households, transportation can consume nearly half of the average household budget.   I've seen research by the US Housing and Transportation Department on housing and transportation that shows that for every dollar saved on housing, 77 cents may be spent on transportation. A home price might be lower because it's further from the core, but transportation costs can quickly make up the difference. To me, this highlights the strong connection between affordable housing and transportation. When we talk about true housing affordability, housing and transportation expenses must be considered.   This is why it's essential to prioritize the development of mixed-income housing near transit hubs and enforce affordable housing requirements in transit-oriented developments. This is also one of the reasons Windmill Development Group developments follow the One Planet Living framework: its 10 principles are designed to lower the overall cost of living by addressing multiple aspects of sustainability and affordability. The framework helps us account for the full range of home occupancy costs when evaluating affordability. If we are serious about building more affordable housing in the GTA, we need to look at the full picture of living costs – not just the price of the home.   #OnePlanetLiving #AffordableHousing #SocialResponsibility #SustainableDevelopment

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published the findings of a wide-ranging review into how to tackle the barriers to making historic homes more energy-efficient. The review, Adapting Historic Homes for Energy Efficiency: A Review of the Barriers, found that the planning system was a major issue faced by households. You can read the proposed measures in this article: https://lnkd.in/etUyUtnf #Architecture #Sustainability

An example below of what people think about the current #SnowsfieldsQuarter proposals. We are working hard to make them better and are encouraged by the increasingly constructive response from Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation REEF and especially Oxford Properties Group's excellent Emma Downey. It's hard to rebuild trust destroyed by Kanda Consulting but we are trying. Note that this (below) isn't a We❤️Snowsfields comment. We don't know the author but it was just posted this week on the Southwark Council planning website. It's interesting how the ideas of #DontWasteBuildings are being picked up by the public before the policy makers. Leanne Tritton Will Hurst Richard Nelson Will Arnold https://lnkd.in/e8drayjm "Building is way out of scale for the surrounding residential area. 15 stories is ginormous and will shadow neighbouring properties and will add further density area. High-rise buildings are built largely of steel and concrete and are less sustainable than low-rise and mid-rise buildings built largely of wood; steel and concrete. Low- and mid-rise (up to 6 floor) building would be much more enabling of community continuing in the area, and the planet. https://lnkd.in/d54zdhkn https://lnkd.in/dpAeTCF The current proposal doesn't outline sustainable goals or development for site. Demolition is one of the worst things that can happen for the planet - the existing built fabric, with carbon already spent on its production, should provide the base from which to build, the council and development should be demanding an end to demolition culture and a shift towards regenerative urbanism. Any new building or retrofits should be made using sustainable methods such as retrofitting and timber construction to reduce noise disruption. There is no need for more offices in the area, there is a continual striping of space and community resources in exchange for new offices - when there is a shortage of homes and a housing crisis."

When did developer become a dirty word? I get it: - the building defects - interest rate rises - unsafe sites - building commissioner posts, name and shame - opal towers - slow approvals - building cost escalation - poor engineering (ouch). But this is the 1%... The other 99%, are not getting enough or the right media attention, who are: - investing in the west - creating communities - increasing canopy cover - supporting sustainable designs - collaborating with Councils and Authorities - offering councils and government additional open spaces and facilities - driving quality and customer centric outcomes In our current housing crisis, we must change the rhetoric, control the narrative to elevate the industry to be proud of the housing we are and can deliver, for our cities future.

This is super exciting!! #construction #architecture #rural #urban #buildingregulations #planningpolicy #buildingpassports #listedbuildings #materialpassports #reuse #recycle #nothinggoestowaste #infrastructure #terotechnology #seasonal #reuse #retrofitting #materials #retrofit #circulareconomy #buildingstock #retrofit #buildingstock #retrofit #sustainablearchitecture #sustainabledesign #sustainability

2024 #OAAConf Event: Gimme Shelter: Coming Together to Answer the Housing Affordability Question Location: Niagara Falls Convention Centre In cities, suburbs, and rural areas across the province, housing affordability is a multi-faceted issue requiring coordinated approaches from across the architectural design, real estate development, and planning realms. Millions of current and future Ontarians are affected by a lack of affordability across all income levels of homes—rented or owned, single-family or high-rise, subsidized or not. As part of its mandate to regulate the practice of architecture to protect the public interest, the OAA has spent more than a decade exploring architectural and land use methods to increase housing supply, while encouraging thoughtful planning approval process changes to deliver homes of all typologies more quickly and cost-effectively. At the same time, the urgent need for climate action means there can be no compromise in safeguarding green spaces or ensuring the environmental sustainability of both new and existing housing. Register now:

𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨' 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙡𝙮 According to the old anecdotes, ‘local government goes on holiday in August.’ A statement which obviously doesn’t apply to those officers engaged in placemaking, given the amount of activity going on across Councils at the moment… 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙃𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙡, 𝙨𝙥𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙩: A master plan is being explored for the future development of Waterfoot, a Lancashire town dedicated to the arts. https://lnkd.in/evzqWhew ‘𝙁𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣’ 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙇𝙚𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: The demolition of a row of nine former industrial buildings in Leicester’s Great Central Street will allow for the "future regeneration" of the site, developers have said. https://lnkd.in/eGPVZUcp 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 700-𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙢𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙚: The “heritage-inspired” redevelopment of The Meadows shopping centre would include a new neighbourhood of 762 homes and 8,500sq m of retail, commercial and leisure space. https://lnkd.in/eGhWm5S5 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝘼𝙛𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩'𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨: Historic England has warned that Stockport's historic landmarks, including Stockport Viaduct and the Town Hall, are at risk of being overshadowed and diminished by new office buildings. https://lnkd.in/ef2_6Fvv 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙡𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙨: The Telegraph reports on draft planning documents released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government which state that local authorities "should support planning applications for all forms of renewable and low-carbon development", a move that would streamline the planning process for onshore wind and solar farms. https://lnkd.in/eCfRCgku.

How to retrofit unsustainable commercial buildings and why landlords will be stranded if they don’t. From #housebuilding to hospitals, the industry is abuzz with new ideas about #sustainablebuildings. There is less talk about the UK’s existing, mostly carbon-unfriendly commercial buildings, particularly those unloved ones struggling to find tenants in a post-Covid agile age. When Watts Group Limited attended the zero carbon property conference FOOTPRINT 2024, the focus was firmly on new builds such as the Velindre Cancer Centre in Wales where local materials are being sourced for construction and the Sara Cultural Centre in Skelleftea, Sweden, which at 75m is one of the tallest timber buildings in the world and a carbon negative template for high rise construction. https://lnkd.in/egB58_Dx It wasn’t all about new builds. On Foot Print’s retrofit stage, we heard from John Christophers RIBA, a campaigning architect who has retrofitted 2,000 homes in his home town of Balsall Heath using a little-known pot of local authority money. These and other examples are seriously impressive, but what about commercial buildings? What can be done to #retrofit commercial stock in the UK, and why do #landlords and the industry need to face up to the challenge? https://lnkd.in/eAHPyPGH

First phase of sustainable urban extension project begins construction

“Successful residential development harmonises risk, reward, and responsibility” –John O'Donoghue, UK Residential Sector Lead, Buro Happold. Buro Happold works with funders, developers, house builders, local authorities, agents, and architects on projects. These can range from upgrading fire safety of council housing, developing decarbonisation strategies across residential portfolios, delivering high volume Built-to-Rent (BtR) and student housing, through to the reimagining of a shopping centre as a vibrant residential-led development, and the transformation of a brownfield site to a new community. Across all these project types and more, there are several key drivers, challenges and opportunities. These are the key themes of how we help our clients deliver world-class residential projects. To learn more about these key themes, our current market insights and our latest projects visit https://buro.im/3SuKH40   #residentialdevelopment #residentialsector #builtenvironment #engineeringsolutions #burohappold