Advancing affordable housing at the Homes for All Summit
Housing developers, advocates, industry experts, academics, elected officials and municipal staff gathered at the inaugural Homes for All Summit.
The day-long event on June 11 was held at Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum. The goal? To meet and connect with local housing champions and find innovative solutions to get shovels in the ground on impactful projects.
Guests and experts at this first-ever Homes for All Summit explored different models, tools, policies and approaches that could all help create more affordable housing Waterloo Region.
Findings from the day will continue to inform the Region of Waterloo’s approach as we work to accelerate affordable housing developments.
Keynote speakers at the June summit included Mark Richardson Technical Lead, Data & Analytic of HousingNowTO, and Rebekah Young, VP Head of Inclusion & Resilience Economics at Scotiabank. Both spoke to the economics of the current housing crisis and how it is affecting Canadians across the country.
“Canadians are being left behind and we need more housing than we ever have. Low-income Canadians and local governments are being hit hardest by the current housing market forces,” said Young. “To find a way forward, we need to aim high, while delivering realistic, creative and timely housing solutions now. The good news is getting policymakers, private industry and community in the room is the best way forward to radical innovation and action.”
Participants joined breakout sessions to discuss social purpose real estate, sustainability in affordable homebuilding, municipal tools available to non-profit organizations and developers, and case studies on recently completed projects within the community. Attendees were encouraged to make new connections and find new opportunities and partnerships to move their affordable housing projects forward.
We know communities thrive when everyone has a place to call home. That’s why Homes for All is one of the four priorities in the Region’s “Growing with Care” Strategic Plan. This means investing in affordable homes and economic opportunities that benefit everyone and are environmentally sustainable. To achieve this, we must move quickly to create affordable, accessible and equitable housing.
We can’t do this work alone. The Region of Waterloo continues to work with community partners and all levels of government to create more affordable homes. Following the Homes for All Summit, we continue the important work of Building Better Futures, our ambitious plan to build 2,500 affordable homes in five years and will support community partners as they get more shovels in the ground.
You can learn more about the Homes for All Summit and view the presentation slides on our Engage page.
