A round photo of three rows of low apartment buildings, with a red and blue circle emerging from the right corner
Report, Public policy, Urban Policy Lab, Munk School

The Municipal Role in Housing

A report from the Who Does What series

The housing affordability crisis that increasingly affects city-regions across Canada is at the centre of the policy debate for all orders of government. Municipalities, provinces, and the federal government have produced plans and strategies to address the crisis, highlighting the need to ensure proper coordination across governments.

The four papers in this report – written by academics, including legal and planning scholars, and practitioners from non-profit development* – look at affordable housing, rental housing, social housing, and homelessness. They identify the ideal role of municipalities in housing policy, where municipalities currently face constraints, how other orders of government can support municipalities, and where intergovernmental cooperation is needed.

* Contributors: Carolyn Whitzman, Alexandra Flynn, Penny Gurstein, Craig Jones, Lilian Chau, Jill Atkey, Greg Suttor, Nick Falvo