Hello colleagues,
Things
have been tremendously energizing for the first few months of 2024!
We’ve been thrilled to join project partners and colleagues at numerous
events, conferences, and gatherings this late winter / early spring.
Highlights included presenting in February alongside our partner Happy
Cities at the 2024 Housing Summit (hosted by the Government of Yukon and
the City of Whitehorse) and at CMHC’s National Housing Conference in
mid-March.
We were grateful to be interviewed by Frances Bula for the Globe and Mail in her piece
on multi-family building designs that allow for density, which also
fosters a sense of community and social connection. “Our housing can do
more for us.”
And, we're excited to announce the next webinar in our 'Housing That Connects Us' series on Thursday, May 2nd. Details can be found below.
Lastly, our project director, Michelle Hoar, was appointed a Dialogue Fellow at the SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. Congratulations, Michelle!
Wishing you well as we enter brighter months ahead. Happy spring!
The HNC Team
|
|
|---|
|
|
 |
Join the next ‘Housing That Connects Us’ webinar: The Affordability Puzzle
Increasing
housing supply is essential, but how can we ensure that the next
generation of homes fosters community, supports aging well in the right
place AND is affordable across the widening spectrum of incomes in our
cities? Join us on Thursday, May 2nd at 9:30 AM PST
for an engaging conversation with Madeleine Hebert (Happy Cities) and
housing expert Robert Brown (Chesterman Properties) on how to build more
inclusive, age-friendly, sociable multi-unit housing that is affordable
across a wide spectrum of income levels.
|
Building Social Connections
Hey
Neighbour Collective, Happy Cities and SFU Gerontology have been
working with six local jurisdictions in Metro Vancouver to co-create
policies for social wellbeing in multi-unit housing. The three-phase
year-long project comes at an ideal time for the region, building on the
Metro 2050 regional growth strategy and ensuring that new, denser
housing contributes to happier, healthier communities for all.
You
can learn more about the project on our website and access some of the
publicly accessible reports and case studies we’ve created as part of
the project.
|
North Vancouver active design study
Multi-
unit housing is the dominant housing form in the City of North
Vancouver, and has a key role to play in supporting City Council’s
ambition to become “the healthiest small city in the world.” Active
design seeks to encourage physical activity and social interaction
through the built environment, recognizing that both are essential
elements to support overall wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle.
Happy
Cities, Hey Neighbour Collective and SFU Gerontology assessed the
impact of the City of North Vancouver’s Active Design Guidelines,
identifying key lessons for supporting social connection in multi-unit
housing.
|
Case studies to inspire socially connected multi-unit housing
Read
up on our research with Happy Cities from seven multi-unit residential
buildings that embody a variety of best practices in inclusive,
age-friendly sociable design. Local and international examples provide a
range of inspiration and policy contexts.
|
Unlocking connection in multi-unit housing: Insights from our 2021-2022 resident surveys
Understanding
resident social life and well-being is integral to inform the policies,
programs, processes and designs that may encourage social connections.
Recognizing this, HNC’s partners at SFU Urban Studies
have conducted multiple resident surveys with two housing partners
since 2020: Brightside Community Homes Foundation and Catalyst Community
Developments Society.
|
Housing That Connects Us webinar recordings
As part of
the Building Social Connections project, we hosted two well-attended
webinars that were open to the public. Full recordings as well as links
to slides and supporting resources are available. Settle down with a
comforting drink and listen in!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Connect with Hey Neighbour Collective |
|
|
|
|
|