Follow: Daren McLean
Follow: Curtis Olson

Positive change is created by communities not individuals, according to local housing developer Curtis Olson. Best known for initiating the first warehouse loft project in Saskatoon, Olson is also a musician who has played in bands like Five Minute Miracle and the Huxtables.

Olson draws an analogy between new trends in music and shifts currently underway in housing and urban design. He says that creative musical trends, from hip-hop to grunge, emerged in the ferment created by a community of creative collaborators more so than from individual innovators.

A good example is the hip-hop scene in Philadelphia in the '90s. Olson recently attended a workshop with one of the founding members of the Grammy-winning group The Roots. He pointed out the '90s hip-hop scene in Philly was a highly collaborative endeavour, so much so that when The Roots were discovered by a major label, they insisted the label sign up all the hip-hop performers they had collaborated with to refine their sound.

The grunge and alternative scene in Seattle was similar, and no doubt we could look back through the history of the blues, soul and other genres to find their origin in communities that create a sound together.

Olson sees something similar happening here in the housing market. A critical mass of people with ideas and expertise is working to shift a segment of the market to something more innovative and sustainable. Olson, for example, is working with his friend Daren McLean and a group of innovators to design and build what they are calling the Shift Home.

An interesting thing about this project is its use of the Internet as a medium for collaboration. Design ideas are posted on a website (www.theshifthome.com) and anybody can critique them, add their own ideas and watch how the design and planning process shifts.

The Shift Home is attempting to be both more sustainable and affordable. One important way to achieve affordability is to include a suite in the home. Revenue from the suite would make it possible for first time buyers to afford a new, modern and green home. As the new buyers gain equity, they could incorporate the suite in their house, or perhaps use it for a home business.

Another welcome shift in housing culture is the proposal from the City of Saskatoon to allow granny or garden suites. This would increase population density and open up opportunities for students and young couples, as well as aging parents, to find affordable rental housing.

The city is asking for comments on its discussion paper, available on line at www.saskatoon.ca (click on 'H' and then on 'Housing Initiative'.)

Good as it is, the city's proposal may be more restrictive than necessary. Based on existing rules for secondary suites in detached homes, the proposal would not allow more than one suite per property, requires a separate parking space and a connection to a front or side street, and suites cannot have a separate title.

It might be preferable to ease some of these restrictions. Since there is a large variation in property sizes, some properties might be well suited to a couple of small garden suites. Adding density can increase the sense of community and provide additional eyes on the street, improving neighbourhood safety and security.

Many of the people who want this type of suite may not need a car. Students are more likely to use the bus, walk or ride bikes. Requirements for parking could be lead by the market.

And why not allow people to have a main entrance from the alley. This could increase privacy for the tenant and the homeowner, and even begin to shift our concept of the alley to a space with multiple uses. Finally, allowing separate titles for garden suites would increase options for homeowners, who might want to sell rather than rent.

Options like the shift home and garden suites could make older neighbourhoods like Riversdale or Caswell much more vital and attractive places to live, leading to greater core density and improved urban sustainability.

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