Research

The impact of housing and neighbourhood quality on physical health has long been studied in the public health field, but studies that aim to assess those same impacts on mental health are less common. This study examined the relationship between the physical quality of housing and neighborhoods and their interactive effect on the mental health … Read More

Public Interest Alberta, the Edmonton Social Planning Council, and the Alberta College of Social Workers recently published a new child poverty report, One in Six is Too Many: Alberta Child Poverty Update. The report shows that the number of children experiencing poverty has grown by 23.4% since 2006. More than 170,000 Alberta children are living … Read More

The findings in study are consistent with a wide range of previous research on crime and place. It turns out that low-income housing developments that are “hot spots” for crime tend to share certain characteristics. Some are large-scale, structural factors, like concentrated disadvantage and residential instability in the properties’ surrounding neighborhoods. But others are smaller-scale—and … Read More

The Housing Needs Assessment is the most overarching research report on affordable housing need by The City of Calgary. It is a synthesis of relevant secondary data on demographic and economic trends, poverty and housing need. The Housing Needs Assessment is published every five years following the release of the federal census data. This 2018 Housing … Read More

In Germany’s project-based housing cooperatives, not all projects are created with affordability as the main objective. They often provide societal benefits by offering multigenerational living (in which older residents age in place with younger residents), mixed-functional living quarters (in which people with disabilities can live independently and in an integrated setting), alternative to shelter for … Read More

Newly released data on publicly-owned social and affordable housing shows that nearly all (93.2%) social and affordable housing structures were built prior to 2000. Almost a third of public housing is in buildings that are in poor or very poor condition. This means there is widespread, advanced deterioration that may render some assets unusable, or … Read More

To encourage architects and planners to design built environments that promote physical activity, New York City offers an “active design” building incentive within the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Active design interventions provide an easy way for residents to increase their activity and meet these goals. This study analyzed the impact of … Read More

The term “gentrification” turned 50 in 2014, when Next City first created this timeline. Originally coined to describe organic population shifts witnessed in London’s inner neighborhoods, “gentrification” has come to encapsulate cultural trends, economic cycles and discrete public policies. Since this timeline was first published, communities have wielded new tools and strategies in response to … Read More

Executing affordable housing is contingent on three pillars: money to finance land to build organizational capacity to action. This paper expands on the workshop session Financing, Land and Organizational Capacity: Affordable Housing Development that took place in Ottawa, on April 26, 2018 at the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association’s annual Congress on Housing and Homelessness.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the characteristics of income support programs (social assistance) and shelter or housing benefits and the ways they are delivered in Canada and selected OECD countries. The six countries reviewed were: Australia Finland Ireland the Netherlands the United Kingdom the United States (New York State).