Residential Intensification Case Studies

For the last 50 years, typical development patterns in Canada on greenfield lands have resulted in the loss of farmland and natural areas, rising car dependency, traffic congestion and infrastructure costs that many municipalities lack the resources to pay for. One of the ways municipalities have sought to address these issues is through residential intensification, i.e., encouraging housing development in existing urban areas where infrastructure and transit services are already in place.

These 12 case studies are successful examples showing how municipalities, in partnership with local stakeholders and/or senior governments, can significantly contribute to the intensification of existing urban areas using a wide variety of instruments.

These 23 case studies are successful examples of residential projects that have overcome the barriers to intensification.