General Information
Instructor Bios
Cheryll Case is an Early Career Canadian Urban Leader with the University of Toronto School of Cities, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo. She is the founder, and principal urban planner of CP Planning, a planning firm that facilitates partnerships between the government, academic, charity, private, and non-profit sectors to align on a human rights approach to the planning and delivery of housing. She is currently helping the Little Jamaica neighbourhood establish a community land trust, and to apply other methods to protect and build affordable housing. She is a co-editor and co-author of House Divided: How the Missing Middle Can Solve Toronto’s Affordability Crisis.
For the past 30 years, Jeanhy Shim has been working in the real estate development industry in the Toronto Region providing a wide range of strategic market analysis and development advisory services, from land acquisition, project design and development, to marketing, sales launch and completion. Currently, Jeanhy is President of Housing Lab Toronto – an independent housing market research firm, and Partner in PMA360 – a full-service development advisory practice. She is also Founder of Crosswalk Communities – a not-for-profit affordable housing development company, and TashDesign Co. – a sustainable buildings research & design solutions firm. She also serves on the Board of Directors at Waterfront Toronto as a federal appointee. Jeanhy has a B.A. from McGill University and Master’s degree from London School of Economics and Political Science.
Adam Vaughan is a Principal at Navigator. He joined the organization after politics where he was an MP from Toronto. While in Government he served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and Parliamentary Secretary for Housing. Mr. Vaughan was one of the architects of the new National Housing Strategy and redesigned the Federal approach to fighting Homelessness. Prior to Federal politics Adam served as a City Councillor in Toronto where he served on the Planning and Growth Committee. Before working in politics, he was a journalist working as a political reporter with CBC, Citytv and CP24. Adam is a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities and teaches and lectures on a variety of Urban issues from Transit and Infrastructure to Housing and Architecture.
Target Audience
Students and learners interested in the following:
- Practical applications of their learning
- Working with impassioned clients focused on more than just the end cost
- Developing an understanding on how project components (design, finance, planning) interact
- Being a part of an interdisciplinary team with students in architecture, geography, planning, and business
- Understanding steps of the development process
- Having their academic exercises support grassroots organizing for affordable housing development
Prerequisite
Although there are no formal course prerequisites, students should bring to class a basic knowledge of either housing design, finance, or planning. We welcome students from graduate programs in business, architecture, geography & planning, engineering, and other related disciplines.
Course Mission
Developed in partnership with the School of Cities, in this studio course, students from across business, planning, and architecture disciplines will collaborate to prepare innovative affordable housing development proposals for a community client. There are two community clients in this studio course, one with a small site in the former Toronto Borough of York, and one with a medium sized site in the former Toronto Borough of North York. The goal of the course is for students to produce workable designs and financial feasibility analyses for affordable housing on a small development site of under 20 units, and a high density development on a vacant church parking lot. While testing out different architectural and urban design approaches, students will also develop innovative financial models for securing the affordable housing they propose for their site. By the end of the term, students are expected to submit an outline of the housing strategy, financial feasibility strategy, and draft materials ready to submit to the City of Toronto. Draft materials include draft massing, conceptual rendering of the exterior, floor plans and site plans, and planning rationale.
Course Scope
In the first half of the class, students will gain fundamental skills in financial analysis, design, planning and zoning. These skills are demonstrated through the interim and final presentation and reports. Students will also write case studies of different innovative models of affordable housing development and finance. By Week 6, students will present their individual design or finance proposals to the three clients. Clients will select the approach and design characteristics to move forward with, and students will convene in groups to develop one final proposal for each site.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Due Date/Time | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1-6 Workplan | Week 2 | 5% |
| Report on Precedents and Lessons Learned | Week 4 | 15% |
| Interim Presentation | Week 6 | 10% |
| Interim Report | Week 6 | 20% |
| Attendance | Week 12 | 10% |
| Final Presentation | Week 12 | 15% |
| Final Report | Week 12 | 25% |
Required Resources
Course reading packet.
William Brueggeman and Jeffrey Fisher. Real Estate Finance and Investments. 15th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008 (14th edition okay)
“Economical Rental Housing by Design for Communities that Work” by Tom White, Charlie Wilkins, and Edward J. Pinto (American Enterprise Institute International Center on Housing Risk
Understanding Toronto’s Zoning By-Law – https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/zoning-by-law-preliminary-zoning-reviews/zoning-by-law-569-2013-2/understanding-the-by-law/
“Strengthening Inclusionary Housing Feasibility Studies,” Grounded Solution Network, Terner Center for Housing Innovation (UC Berkeley), and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, November 2018.
“Let’s Infill a Neighborhood (And Make A Profit)” by Andrew Alexander Price, April 2018
“How Do Developers Respond to Land Use Regulations? An Analysis of New Housing in Los Angeles” by C.J. Gabbe
R. Weber. 2003. Tax Incremental Financing in Theory and Practice,” Chapter 3 in S. White, R. Bingham, and E. Hill, eds., Financing Economic Development in the 21st Century. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2003, pp. 53-69
All other required readings (along with a supplemental bibliography) will be available on Quercus
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