Funding announced for 9 innovative affordable housing solutions

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recently announced that it will be funding nine innovative affordable housing solutions through the National Housing Strategy Demonstrations Initiative. 

The NHS Demonstrations Initiative encourages designers, architects, city planners, affordable housing advocates, and other industry members to explore innovative solutions through a variety of avenues, like technology, policy, and other practices. Projects that emphasize sustainability, accessibility, energy efficiency, age-friendly, and socially inclusive housing are prioritized. 

"The shared knowledge gained from the NHS Demonstrations Initiative will help strengthen, better equip and innovate the affordable housing sector in Canada,” says Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for CMHC. “The innovative practices and technologies are an essential step in supporting more Canadians access housing that meet their needs and that they can afford. Congratulations to all the recipients and also to all of those who submitted their work to the NHS Demonstrations Initiative program."

Here are a few affordable housing solutions that stood out to us!

Exploring universal design

Experiment 303: A process of transformation toward universal design is taking place in Quebec. An apartment will be redesigned to meet universal design guidelines, which ensure a space is usable by any resident. 

The apartment unit will be redesigned to have open spaces, a modular kitchen, bathroom facilities, special hardware, faucets and lighting fixtures, and much more. The point of the project is to redesign the unit using universal design practices in a stylish way, proving that you don’t have to sacrifice style for usability. 

Smart home technology   

The Smart Homes: Supporting Community Integration for Clients with Severe Mental Illness project will design housing units with smart home technology specifically for those struggling with mental illness. The smart features will allow for more independence, stronger housing stability, and ultimately lead to a healthier lifestyle. The project will take place at the Canadian Mental Health Association, Middlesex Branch, and London Middlesex Housing Corporation. 

Learning more about modular construction

The Modular Construction to Achieve Sustainable and Affordable Community Housing project aims to educate participants about different strategies in relation to modular home construction through site visits, webinars and other methods. Speeding up the construction process helps save on costs, so if more builders and developers understood these strategies and implemented them, it could translate to more affordable housing across the board. 

These are only three of the nine innovative projects that have been funded! You can see the full list of projects here.