What are the most important skills for affordable housing and community development?

As a portion of the Canadian population shifts away from urban centres to get more bang for their housing bucks .. Planners will need an adaptive perspective to regulating land use / zoning. Rigid application of, in many cases, decades old zoning bylaws and official plans will cause some small cities and towns to miss growth opportunities that are at their door steps.

I think we need to look at supply chain issues. Costs of land development, material costs, design and specifications costs, construction costs, availability of tradespeople, planning flexibility and the like. Are there efficiencies to be gained in some/all of these areas that can lead to reduced offering prices (rather than just to increased profits)? I believe there is a for-profit model that could be deployed to enable this to happen - to provide housing that is more affordable and still to return a profit to the developers.

Skills for Affordable Housing and Community Development: 1. Community Engagement and Collaboration 2. Needs Assessment and Research 3. Policy and Advocacy 4. Financial Management and Sustainability (Fostering Economic Mobility) 5. Project Management and Implementation (Integration with Urban Fabric) 6. Community Development Planning (Collaboration and Partnership) 7. Conflict Resolution and Negotiation 8. Cultural Competence and Sensitivity 9. Communication and Presentation 10. Grant Writing and Fundraising 11. Data Analysis and Evaluation 12. Leadership and Vision 13. Adaptability and Flexibility (Sustainable and Affordable Living) 14. Continuous Learning and Professional Development 15. Collaboration with Interdisciplinary Teams

These skills are crucial for creating affordable housing that is not only functional but also impactful, and aesthetically pleasing. Applying principles from Christopher Alexander's "A Pattern Language" can guide the design process, ensuring the integration of community preferences and needs into the built environment. Additionally, drawing inspiration from William H. Whyte's research on public spaces enhances the design's social functionality, promoting community engagement within affordable housing developments.

Good collaboration is critical, especially for the civil engineer, who's design overlaps with almost every other discipline and can hold major unknowns that can cause major budget and schedule issues. One often overlooked component to collaboration is developing a sense of empathy for everyone involved with the project: the community (including reviewers and future members), ownership, and the design team. Taking time to listen well and empathize with the requirements and challenges of each stakeholder allows the civil engineer to expose site problems and work through critical solutions with the team while the design is still conceptual. Designing with empathy will result in win-win solutions and a project the community will be proud of.

What is most critical in promoting much needed affordable housing is balancing inducement of new affordable housing with the sustainability of the neighborhoods in which the housing is located. The truly successful affordable housing compliments and supports the underlying foundations of the neighborhoods in which located.

Another major consideration is the income level of the community and people the housing is being provided for. Many times, the affordable housing are actually not so affordable to the average income earners.

To make any housing project successful these are the key considerations from my experience: 1) As a planner we need to understand and take into consideration the target population for these affordable housing- the family structure (young families, working couples etc), the culture ( immigrants from other countries, relocating adults from the country etc) and their needs (accessible to public transit, groceries, schools, recreation centres, childcare). 2) These buildings are homes for many and hence for a thriving environment they should feel belonged with opportunities to socialize and create a community. 3) The design from micro ( unit layout) to macro ( infrastructure layout) is crucial to make it both affordable and sustainable.

Vision. What is it that we are trying to do here? Fill a piece of land, empower a community, comply with a zoning ordinance or legal requirement, make work for a developer, etc. Some projects promise all of the above, an agenda likely to be realized, some never consider the question. Figure this out. It gets people on the same page.