05-07-2023, 07:02 PM
(11-15-2021, 10:37 PM)nms Wrote: Thanks for the link jeffster. This one bit stood out for me:I thought this was an interesting article about why we don't have a lot of larger family units being built in multi-residential buildings. https://www.centerforbuilding.org/blog/w...th-america
Quote:In the early 20th Century, families often had many children, resulting in large households. However, during this era, households were often flexible, expanding and contracting as the need arose. It was not unusual for households to include relatives, boarders or other individuals, either temporarily or on a longer-term basis.
I wonder how many "boarders or other individuals" are captured by households with multiple roommates sharing the rent. It would also be interesting see the results of the 2021 census found an increase in larger families to capture those situations where families consolidated to save money.
Looking at the article above, using the statistics there, in 1941 there were 1.45 million households of 4 or more people (I consolidated the 4 and the 5+ categories); in 2011 there were 3.02 million households with 4 or more people.
In 2016, in the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge census area there were 516,085 people living in 200,495 units. The overall average household size of 2.6 with a peak of 2.9 for single family homes and a lowest average of 1.7 for "Apartment in a building that has fewer than five storeys". (Which must include most seniors homes) (1 - see reference below)
Another interesting statistic was "Housing Suitability" which means: "whether the dwelling has enough bedrooms for the size and composition of the household". The full definition is:
Quote:'Housing suitability' refers to whether a private household is living in suitable accommodations according to the National Occupancy Standard (NOS); that is, whether the dwelling has enough bedrooms for the size and composition of the household. A household is deemed to be living in suitable accommodations if its dwelling has enough bedrooms, as calculated using the NOS.
'Housing suitability' assesses the required number of bedrooms for a household based on the age, sex, and relationships among household members. An alternative variable, 'persons per room,' considers all rooms in a private dwelling and the number of household members.
Housing suitability and the National Occupancy Standard (NOS) on which it is based were developed by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) through consultations with provincial housing agencies.
In Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge here is what was found (the table generator defeated me, so sorry for the mess below):
Total --- Owned --- Rented
Suitable: 191,550 --- 132,545 --- 59,015
Not Suitable: 8,940 --- 3595 --- 5345
One Bedroom shortfall: 7240 --- 2890 --- 4355
Two bedroom shortfall: 1235 --- 515 --- 720
3+ bedroom shortfall: 465 --- 190 --- 270
When developers asked why they don't build larger units, the standard reply is "no one buys them". This table suggest that there are close to 9000 households that would happily buy a larger a unit. Perhaps the developers actually mean "no one buys them at the price that we want to charge for them"?
To bring the discussion back to this development on Lancaster, there is a chance that it will address some of this shortfall as the urban design brief describes the project as, "1198 units with a mix of one bedroom units, two bedroom units and two bedroom plus den units". The brief didn't say how much of each were going to be in the development. The project will likely not address any of the 3+ bedroom shortfall and possibly none of the two bedroom shortfall should the den in the plus den units be used for a den rather than a sleeping unit.
The reports that I looked at were:
1. "Structural Type of Dwelling (10) and Household Size (8) for Occupied Private Dwellings of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census - 100% Data"
2. "Housing Suitability (6), Tenure (4), Number of Persons per Room (5), Number of Rooms (12), Number of Bedrooms (6), Household Type Including Census Family Structure (16) and Household Size (8) for Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census - 25% Sample Data"