Vancouver is a growing and diverse city with significant housing challenges. Whether it's homelessness, a lack of new rental homes, or high prices for single-family homes, Vancouver residents face housing pressures across the financial spectrum. With the population expected to grow to at least 740,000 by 2041, energy and resource costs increasing, and housing prices among the highest in Canada, there is a growing public demand for bold, creative proposals to create more affordable housing choices in Vancouver.
Providing a range of housing options is critical to the social and economic health of the City, and meeting this challenge is the top priority for Vancouver City Hall. It is no easy task. The City of Vancouver is limited in its taxation and regulatory powers, revenue base, and land constraints. Following re-election in November 2011, Mayor Robertson launched the Mayor's Task Force on Housing Affordability, comprised of local housing stakeholders to provide options on both protecting and creating affordable housing in Vancouver.
Building Bold
This category is geared towards bold, innovative ideas for creating large amounts of affordable housing in Vancouver. Utilizing land within 800m of an existing or proposed rapid transit line, or land and properties owned by a public body such as the City or another level of government--what can we do that we're not doing now? How can we get affordable housing built in a way that meets the needs of Vancouver residents now and in the future, AND create opportunities for food production, active living, energy production, transportation, green space, learning and employment? How can we work with third parties, like philanthropists, not for profits, and financial institutions to finance and build affordable housing in Vancouver? This is an opportunity to explore a site-specific solution that uses new technologies, financing models and materials as well as new mixes of uses and locations. These are big-picture solutions that take care of the basics--meeting the needs of Vancouver residents now and in the future--building bold now, to create a resilient and healthy city for tomorrow. Winners will be selected in two streams within this category, Building Bold: Public Land and Building Bold: Private Land. (Submissions that use a mix of public/private should be entered into the public stream).
(From competition program)
reTHINK Housing - Big City, Big Challenge | An Open Ideas Competition
City launches re:THINK Housing -- a global ideas competition for affordable housing in Vancouver | Mayor of Vancouver, 2012
Council approves Vancouver’s first co-housing proposal | Mayor of Vancouver
Mayor Robertson’s Housing Affordability Task Force releases ‘Bold ideas towards an affordable city’ | Mayor of Vancouver
Mayor and Council approve significant new social and rental housing in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside | Mayor of Vancouver
Mayor and Council approve significant new East Vancouver rental housing | Mayor of Vancouver
Vancouver, City of, re:THINK Housing — Reveal, 2012
Hurley, Brendan, re:THINK HOUSING Winners Announced, Spacing Vancouver, 2012
Re:think Housing Competition Entry / Jessie Andjelic, Albert Dijk and Philip Vandermey, ArchDaily, 2012
Award-winning ideas for affordable housing | sustain.ubc.ca
Andy Longhurst, Vision Vancouver’s re:THINK: Obscuring the housing crisis through the spectacle of competition, The Mainlander, 2012
Chung, Rick, Gen Why Media re:THINK HOUSING Competition at The HiVE |, Vancouver Is Awesome, 2012
Hope, Melissa, Gen Why Media RE:THINK Housing Competition at the HIVE| Coworking in Vancouver, HiVE | Coworking in Vancouver, 2012
Vision Vancouver's re:THINK: Obscuring the housing crisis through the spectacle of competition | rabble.ca
Chupin, Jean-Pierre
Cucuzzella, Carmela
Helal, Bechara, Architecture Competitions and the Production of Culture, Quality and Knowledge: An International Inquiry, 2015
Vancouver offering cash for affordable housing ideas, Business in Vancouver
re:Think Green Housing Solutions Winners, Your Vancouver Real Estate by Sebastian Albrecht
WAN:: Rethink Vancouver by WAN Editorial in Vancouver, Canada
Affordability: Stop, Rethink, Participate, Win | MLA Canada
Howell, Mike, Former planner looks to wide Vancouver streets for housing space, Vancouver Courier
