Transformative change in housing looks imminent

Recent events seem to be pointing to some transformative change in housing. The first significant event was Canada's adoption of the New Urban Agenda 2030 on October 20th in Quito, Ecuador. It was the most successful United Nations conference in their history, with 35,000 participants, which included a large Canadian delegation.

Of particular interest in the New Urban Agenda is their focus on inclusion and sustainable development goals. They go as far as to state on page 5 "To fully harness the potential of sustainable urban development, we make the following transformative commitments through an urban paradigm shift grounded in the integrated and indivisible dimensions of sustainable development: social, economic, and environmental." Sustainable development goals not only have a positive impact on our environment (eg. Paris Agreement), they also positively impact our financial and social sustainability. In the built environment, Universal Design of new projects means that accessibility is done right from the planning stage of a new building/dwelling, which is far more economical than renovating for accessibility later on (up to 20 times more economical). Universal Design in all new buildings and dwellings also means avoiding renovations or avoiding being forced to move (if your abilities change); renovations and moving both have carbon-intensive impacts. Social sustainability is achieved when ALL can be included in live, work and play daily activities, which have a very positive impact on each individual (when they don't need to struggle with barriers, such as architectural barriers in our buildings, dwellings and public spaces). Equal opportunities to participate have an extremely positive impact on an individual's quality of life, in order to reach their full potential.

A second event of significance has been Canada's announcement that we're moving forward with the accession of the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

As I've previously commented, Article 9 of the CRPD speaks of Accessibility, which includes Housing. I have been advocating for accessibility of housing for a number of years, which includes a Code Change Request with the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCR 964 for VisitAbility of new dwellings, which is still ongoing). Moving forward with the Optional Protocol of the CRPD means that a formal complaint can eventually be submitted to the CRPD Committee if Canada's discriminatory building codes are allowed to continue (section 3.8.1.1 exempts homes from barrier-free design requirements, which actively discriminates against millions of Canadians with mobility disabilities, thereby excluding them from the majority of housing stock due to these preventable architectural barriers). VisitAbility is a simple and cost-effective approach of removing architectural barriers in our built environment and allows for inclusion of all. 

A third recent event has been the publication of the Ontario Human Rights Commission Strategic Plan for 2017-2022. Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane has made it very clear in this document that systemic discrimination will be confronted, including in the judicial system (on page 15).

Given that our Ontario Building Code, section 3.8.1.1, also exempts homes from barrier-free design requirements. I suspect that this will become an issue for its violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code, which has primacy over the Ontario Building Code.

As you can see from the above examples, I believe that transformative change in how we design and build our new dwellings will hopefully become a more inclusive and sustainable system, one that responds to the changing demographics and abilities of Canadians. I look forward to future announcements from our federal and provincial governments.