LOCAL NEWS
TOWN OF COLLINGWOOD
***********************
The Town of Collingwood, together with the United Nation’s Urban Economy Forum, is hosting a virtual Affordable Housing Workshop on Thursday, June 30 to bring together residents, advocates, academics, and other key stakeholders, to discuss and consider urgent action needed to address affordable housing in Collingwood and other municipalities. This collaborative workshop will examine affordable housing at the scale of towns, focusing on next steps for municipalities, businesses, advocates, and others who want a significant increase in our sustainable housing supply.
Register Now: https://www.ueforum.org/
In February 2021, Collingwood Town Council established an Affordable Housing Task Force to take leadership with a number of possible strategies to enhance and increase the supply of affordable housing. Council also approved $350,000 in the 2022 Municipal Budget for Affordable Housing plus the hiring of a Housing Development Specialist. That position will help prepare and implement an Affordable Housing Master Plan, and other projects or programs designed to increase the supply of affordable housing.
Undoubtedly, solutions to housing affordability challenges require strong collaboration between all levels of government, the not-for-profit sector, and private developers/builders.
“If we want to improve the local housing crisis, we need to lead by example, including in how we plan for Collingwood’s growth and in working with our developers and stakeholders to take action immediately” says CAO Sonya Skinner.
In the morning of the workshop, which is free and open for anyone to register, there will be a presentation from the Affordable Housing Task Force, summarizing their recommendations. Then an Affordable Housing Insights & Innovations Panel Discussion moderated by Dr. Anneke Smit, Windsor Law Centre for Cities. Panelists include Anaclaudia Rossbach, Latin America Housing Expert; Andrea Nemtin, Social Innovation Canada; Larry Law, Living Water Resort; Jamie Shipley, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); and Jim Tischler, Visiting Fellow, Windsor Law Centre for Cities.
The afternoon will be spent workshopping next steps and actions for Collingwood as a case study, including four main topic areas:
- Affordable Housing Built Form
- Municipal Policy & Regulatory Innovation
- Creative Business Development Models
- Activating Collaborations & Partnerships
Workshop Objectives:
- To conceptualize pilot projects and an Affordable Housing Master Plan in Collingwood and beyond that will also support other towns in understanding the suite of actions available and their merit.
- To continue building partnerships among towns and small cities and their housing advocates.
- To highlight how the World Urban Pavilion in Regent Park (virtual/physical) can be a space to discuss in a practical manner urban challenges and innovative solutions.
This event continues the preparation for the third Collingwood World Summit being held on October 31 and November 1, 2022. The overall theme of the Summit will focus on Sustainable Housing and Financing as a catalyst for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
*************************
