North&America&Housing&Study&Tour19&– 31&July&2015

David&Hermans,&Principal&AdvisorHousing&Policy&Development21&September2015

Key&‘takeBouts’

Key&takeBouts1. Successes&are&often&attributable&to&a&

‘convergence&of&opportunity’&2. The&‘missing&middle’&is&an&issue&

everywhere&3. There&are&lots&of&different&

affordability&models&to&explore&– but&rental&should&be&a&focus

4. Low&density&and&peripheral&suburban&development&can&be&done&much&better

5. Transport&investment&(and&disinvestment)&is&a&critical&component

#1& Successes&are&often&attributable&to&a&&‘convergence&of&opportunity’&

• All&three&have&reputations&for&being&at&the&forefront&of&approaches&to&urban&redevelopment• On&the&surface,&well&deserved&• But&successes&often&underpinned&by&oneNoff&opportunities&and&historical&events/accidents:• Olympic&Village,&False&Creek&(Vancouverism),&West&End

• Portland:&Pearl&District&and&South&Waterfront

False&Creek:&‘Vancouverism’

Vancouver’s&West&End

Portland:&Pearl&District

#2& The&‘missing&middle’&is&an&issue&everywhere• …&and&noNone&has&solved&it!• All&three&cities&are&struggling&with&how&to&intensify&existing&neighbourhoods&• UGBs&and&ALPs• NIMBYs• Character&and&heritage• Gentrification& and&dislocation

Seattle&Housing&Affordability&and&LivabilityAgenda&(HALA)

#5&Transport&investment&is&a&critical&component…

Roading disinvestment

Some&closing&thoughts…• Auckland&is&far&from&alone&in&its&struggles• But&no&one&city&is&going&to&provide&all&(if&any)&of&our&answers• We&already&have&some&key&advantages&– i.e.&reasonably&coherent&regional&governance&in&Auckland• But&there&are&some%things&YVR/SEA/PDX&do&well,&and&some&things&we&can&explore&in&more&detail,&including:• Seizing&largeNscale& brownfield&opportunities,& and&exercising&control&of&outcomes&

• Thinking&about&longNterm&rental&and&different&models&of&tenure&and&community

• Pursuing&institutional& investment& in&largeNscale& rental&• Always&thinking&about&transport& infrastructure& and&landNuse& together• Embracing&MDH&and&higher&density&where& it&works,&but&also&thinking&about&new&types&of&lowNdensity& living