Hand-Me-Down Housing: City Housing Stock Revisited

In the 20th Century, and especially following World War II, responsibility for affordable housing fell to public housing providers. Canada’s public housing stock is currently in need of major life-cycle reinvestment, as much of it is over 40 years old. Government funding for new public housing has long since dissipated and funds to maintain what was built in the post-war decades are in extremely short supply – exacerbated by waning political support for government-sponsored housing. Municipal housing authorities like the Ottawa Community Housing Corporation (OCH) have been directing an increasing percentage of their resources to the maintenance of aged housing. Working within limited mandates and budgets, housing authorities must find creative ways both to renew their stock and address longstanding problems in the process. This thesis investigates how the challenges facing a physically and socially tarnished public housing stock may present opportunities to experiment with new, more economically and socially sustainable approaches to neighborhood redevelopment.