Urban Matters was engaged by the City of North Vancouver, in partnership with the District of West Vancouver and Squamish First Nation, to deliver a Balanced Housing Innovation Lab for the North Shore. The purpose of the Lab was to convene a wide range of participants representing different perspectives on housing issues experienced by North Shore residents and communities. During the lab, participants worked to identify, develop, and test solutions to address the increasing pressure facing moderate to middle-income earners on the North Shore.

Throughout this work Urban Matters developed an assessment of housing issues facing moderate to middle-income households, worked with a Steering Committee to oversee the project, organized four lab workshops, and helped test and iterate solutions emerging from the lab workshops. Our team also prepared the final report submission to CMHC, who supported this project through a funding grant.

Impact:

This work led to the development of several key prototype areas that are currently being implemented by the project partners: identifying Housing Opportunity Areas for accelerated housing development, rethinking the development approvals process, and strengthening partnerships between local governments and the Squamish Nation.