The goal of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC’s) research on sustainable community planning is to encourage neighbourhood design and land use planning approaches that reduce costs and environmental impacts, while maintaining community livability. Our research provides best practices in design and development, tools for planners and designers, and practical information for your home.
The key to addressing the affordable housing shortage is for local governments to take leadership in developing and implementing housing strategies that include a package of practices tailored to each community’s market and affordable housing needs. Local governments are now the ongoing facilitators responsible for ensuring that an adequate range of housing types addresses market and non-market demand.
The purpose of this Toolkit is to give local government staff and decision-makers more detailed knowledge about eight tools that deliver market and non-market affordable housing so they are better equipped to decide which approaches suit their community and to develop an affordable housing program. Local governments have the legislative authority to work with developers to use all of these tools to create affordable housing. This Toolkit provides the support and suggestions on how to craft an effective affordable housing program.