Letting go of these three myths could help build more homes

The solution to Canada's housing crisis seems simple: build more affordable homes fast. But like many real-world solutions, that's easier said than done.

Last month, construction and urban development experts gathered in Vancouver at an event for University of Waterloo alumni, students and friends. Hosted in partnership with TELUS, the "Bold Urban Futures" event featured insights and real-world examples from panelists Lisa Helps, former mayor of Victoria and current executive lead at BC Builds, and Dr. Joyce Kim, professor at Waterloo and cluster lead on housing at the Future Cities Institute (FCI) founded by CAIVAN. Their conversation was moderated by Dr. Leia Minaker (BSc '04), director of the FCI and professor at Waterloo. Together, they discussed barriers to building more homes - including some beliefs held by the Canadian public.

Here are the three myths we need to rethink to solve the housing crisis.

Myth 1: Governments can't accelerate processes.

Truth: A government mandate cut BC timelines by more than half.

In her role at BC Builds, Helps puts into action a government mandate to speed up the development of new homes. When the initiative started in 2024, the average project took three to five years before construction began. BC Builds created new processes to get projects to construction in 12 to 18 months.

The first part of their process is simple: post available land on their housing development opportunities platform. Once they have a successful proposal, they create a project acceleration committee. Surprisingly, Helps has seen that the most successful projects involve more responsible players on the committee, not less. In smaller communities, the table could include the mayor, head of planning, finance, community health experts, developers, architects or, "anyone who has anything to do with the project."

When everyone comes together and takes accountability for accelerating housing approvals, projects can move forward quickly. In British Columbia, the acceleration committees are working. BC Builds' first project broke ground in less than 18 months, and that trend has continued with the others.

Helps believes this timeline will only get faster. When large acceleration committees get together for the first time, there is a learning curve, particularly with sector-specific language. Once they are able to use a common language and follow the laid-out process, teammates are one step ahead to faster timelines on their next project.

Myth 2: Academic partnerships don't help us build today.

Truth: Research partnerships can open new, unexpected doors for current projects.

What if participating in a research project could improve a construction company's efficiency? Do we really have time for that?

According to Kim, we do - and it might just give us an extra edge. In particular, she sees opportunities to help companies identify low-carbon strategies.

"Frankly, I don't think that is being prioritized by the companies. It may be because there is this perception that it may have to come at the cost of their productivity. So, this is where our team goes in and observe their processes and understand their bottlenecks and identify opportunities where we can make win-win strategies."

Recently, her team worked with a mass timber company that was using a new laser scanner to check the quality of reclaimed wood for their cross-laminated timber panel production. Kim's team is integrating scanner data into building information models, allowing for precise tracking of the salvaged material. With this information, the company can satisfy sustainability policies and potentially apply for credits.

It's just one example of how researchers can improve the bottom line and create new opportunities, not in the distant future, but on current projects.

TELUS & Waterloo: A strategic partnership for the future. In his opening remarks, Steve Banick, Vice-President of Enterprise IT Services and Enablement in the TELUS Chief Information Office, gave even more examples of data collection and strategic collaboration: "The convergence of 5G networks, IOT sensors, AI, and data analytics is opening doors we couldn't have imagined just a decade ago. At TELUS, we're already seeing this transformation in action. Through our Smart Cities initiative, we're helping municipalities optimize traffic flow, reduce energy consumption, and improve public safety. ... Between industry and academia, we can shape the essential infrastructure of tomorrow. The partnerships we forge today will determine whether our cities become more livable, sustainable and equitable for generations to come."

Myth 3: Standardization kills creativity.

Truth: Standardization gives architects more time to think about aesthetic design choices.

Through BC Builds, Helps is also involved in Digitally Accelerated Standardized Housing (DASH), a platform that offers open-source, non-proprietary tools and services that speed up the building process through replication. As Helps points out, "Bespoke projects are a thing of the past if we want to scale. And we're trying to replicate and build capacity with all our partners as we go."

The DASH platform can be used for a variety of processes, from permitting to optimizing designs for prefabrication and kits of parts. For example, it has standardized, replicable designs for wood-frame buildings. Architects simply select the lot, and the AI tool will configure the building, even taking density and shadowing into consideration. The platform can offer a kit of parts for its configurations, so builders know exactly what they need to order, and then work with participating pre-fabrication manufacturers.

"It doesn't take away the architect's creativity, it just gives them new tools to build with," says Helps. "Rather than spending three to four weeks trying to figure out the optimal design for a particular lot ... the DASH platform does that in five minutes. And so then arguably, they have more time to think about: What does the cladding look like? What does the orientation look like? How can we make this building beautiful?"

Kim agreed that pre-fabricated materials and AI-enabled processes don't remove creativity from a project. "I think it's a misconception that prefab buildings need to look all the same because the way that these designers approach [building] is to think about what must be standardized versus what can be customizable to maximize efficiency and architectural variety."

About the Global Futures event series

Alumni, students and friends can join us at the Global Futures event series to see how the University of Waterloo community is turning challenges into opportunities for change. Attendees can hear from experts making real-world change in economics, society, technology, health and sustainability.

Each event is made possible by an industry partner. Thank you to TELUS for hosting the "Bold Urban Futures" event, and their generous support to other initiatives within our community, including the FCI.