Avi Friedman talks about Affordable Housing
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On September 21st, the SFU Centre for Dialogue—in collaboration with the Urban Development Institute, the City of Vancouver and other partners—hosted a public lecture on affordable housing featuring internationally recognized affordable housing expert Avi Friedman, Professor of Architecture at McGill University.
From the event site:
Metro Vancouver’s many attributes make it a highly desirable place to live and invest. Unfortunately, that makes housing, whether rental or ownership, unaffordable for many of the region’s citizens. The need to think outside the box about lower-cost residential options has become an urgent priority. Renowned international housing expert Dr. Avi Friedman will look at what’s making housing unaffordable in Metro Vancouver—as well as the direct and indirect contributions that affordable housing makes to communities. He will describe potential housing strategies, including examples of local and international projects, that offer innovative affordable housing solutions for this region.
Thinking Outside the Box about Affordable Housing
Running time: 1h 42 minutes
For a written analysis of the event, check out this article in The Tyee.
Avi Friedman, Professor, McGill University School of Architecture
Dr. Avi Friedman received his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Town Planning from the Israel Institute of Technology, his Master’s Degree from McGill University, and his Doctorate from the University of Montréal. In 1988, he founded the Affordable Homes Program at the McGill School of Architecture where he teaches.
He is known nationally and internationally for his housing innovation and in particular for the Grow Home and Next Home designs. He is the author of ten books and was a syndicated columnist for the CanWest Chain of daily newspapers. He is a practicing architect and the recipient of numerous awards including the Manning Innovation Award and the United Nations World Habitat Award.
In the year 2000 he was selected by Wallpaper magazine as 1 of 10 people from around the world “most likely to change the way we live”.
A similar article was cross-posted on Yurbanism.
I read your recent article in the St Albert Gazette. The newspaper article focused on affordable housing for young people, but I would also hope that your ideas extend to the biggest age demographic, the baby boomer population, who have great needs for affordable housing that meets their particular needs of affordability, accessibility, socialization, access to services. Let’s not forget this age group and the many contributions they have made throughout their lives, and can continue to make for as long as they have the support of their community in the many aspects of life…housing being an essential element.