New housing rules in BC: How can denser neighbourhoods support wellbeing?
Rendering of the Aster, a new 12-storey, non-market housing development in Vancouver with affordable, secured rental homes for independent seniors, families, and people with disabilities. The building includes universal design and shared amenities, such as rooftop and ground-level urban agriculture. (Brightside Community Homes Foundation)
A version of this article was previously published in the Spring 2024 issue of Planning West, co-authored by Happy Cities and Hey Neighbour Collective.
The Province of B.C. has announced wide-ranging housing policy changes over the past six months, including requirements for greater density in all cities, particularly near transit. Sometimes, residents wonder whether more density will be bad for health and wellbeing. Our research shows the opposite: People can live healthy, happy lives in all types of housing. What matters is how we design it—and who we design it for.
Denser housing, particularly near transit, creates a strong foundation for healthy, resilient, inclusive communities. But upzoning is just the start. Policy needs to equally create places where people of diverse ages, incomes, experiences, and abilities can access a range of housing options, connect with neighbours, and meet their daily needs close to home.
Urban design influences our wellbeing: For example, access to amenities in multi-unit buildings and destinations in the neighbourhood (where we can bump into people) is linked with greater trust and social ties. Happy Cities and Hey Neighbour Collective have been studying the connections between people’s housing, neighbourhoods, and wellbeing in communities across B.C. In this article, we recommend three evidence-based policy changes to ensure that denser neighbourhoods and housing contribute to happier, healthier, more inclusive communities.
1. Design inclusive, walkable neighbourhoods to unlock the benefits of density
Denser neighbourhoods make it possible to deliver the services and amenities that people love, by concentrating more residents and tax revenue in an area. In Happy Cities’ research in Metro Vancouver, some of the top reasons why people choose to live in their neighbourhoods are proximity to transit, shops and restaurants, and outdoor spaces.
Not only are these amenities desirable, they also improve health and happiness. When people live within a short walk or roll of jobs, shops, services, parks, and transit, they can spend less time trying to get places and more time with friends and family. They are more likely to be physically active, happy, and socially connected.
The challenge is that it is very difficult to transform car-oriented, low-density or suburban areas into people-oriented places. Our planning and engineering systems prioritize infrastructure for cars—parking requirements, wide roads, fast speed limits—over places for people.
To overcome this challenge, cities can start by implementing clear design standards that prioritize pedestrians in the areas within 400 metres of rapid transit stops. This means slower streets, shorter crosswalks, and spaces for diverse retail and services. Streets should be lined consistently with buildings that have multiple ground entrances, small shops, patios, seating, and public spaces—rather than with surface parking lots. All these elements work together to create a community heart, ensuring that people who live in multi-unit housing can reap the social benefits of living in a dense neighbourhood.
To unlock the benefits of density, cities first need to implement the essential ingredients for vibrant, healthy communities. (Happy Cities)
2. Prioritize diverse affordable housing options
Affordability strongly influences where people can live. Amid our growing housing crisis, only households with high incomes truly enjoy a range of choices. To ensure that upzoning supports wellbeing and equity, we must offer housing options for people of all income levels in walkable, accessible, healthy communities. Municipalities can implement policies both to protect existing rental stock—which is more affordable than new builds—and to prioritize affordability and diverse forms of tenure models in new development.
Security of tenure and affordability are closely linked to wellbeing. People who have lived for longer in the same home are more likely to know their neighbours—and to do activities together with them. However, people’s ability to stay in their unit long-term is influenced by factors like rent and mortgage costs, housing quality and security, and changing household needs. Our research finds consistently that homeowners without mortgages tend to report greater social wellbeing than renters and those with mortgages, likely reflecting differences in overall income, affordability, housing security, and length of tenure.
The Rental Protection Fund is one initiative in B.C. that provides grants for nonprofits to purchase older rental buildings from the market and preserve them as non-market supply. Cities can also strengthen renter protection policies—for example, requiring compensation for residents, interim housing options, and new units at equivalent rents when rental buildings are redeveloped.
Additionally, cities can explore ways to encourage diverse forms of affordable, non-market housing options in upzoned areas. Policy tools can include streamlined approvals processes, tax exemptions and fee waivers, or density bonuses for deeply affordable projects.
Rendering of the 100% affordable housing development on Sixth Street, New Westminster for Indigenous and Swahili-speaking communities. The project aims to foster cultural and intercultural connections through social programming and shared spaces, through an innovative partnership between Swahili Vision International Association and the Aboriginal Land Trust. (RLA Architects / Aboriginal Land Trust)
3. Make it easier to design socially connected housing
Neighbours that know and trust one another can provide mutual support—lending items, watering plants, dropping off groceries, or even watching a pet or child. These social connections can be a lifeline during times of crisis: Having someone to check in on an elderly neighbour during extreme heat can save a life. Friends and acquaintances are also good for basic health. People with strong social connections live 15 years longer on average than those who are socially isolated. Conversely, social isolation is as bad for our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
In multi-unit housing, shared spaces and amenities play an important role in connecting neighbours. Presently, many municipalities offer incentives for developers to build shared amenities, which are often defined as enclosed spaces with a specific function, such as a gym or lounge. Amenity rooms are important, but most residents do not use them every day. People interact far more often in the practical shared spaces that we use and move through on a daily or weekly basis: hallways, elevators, lobbies, and even shared laundry or parking.
To truly maximize social potential, circulation spaces need to feel comfortable and convenient: For example, wider corridors or outdoor walkways with small seating nooks encourage neighbours to linger and chat. Shared laundry that is placed next to a lobby or play space increases opportunities for residents to interact. But under most municipal policies, extra space devoted to these social features—which don’t fall under a typical ‘amenity’ definition—takes away from space for private units, increasing the costs per unit for future residents.
Social walkways with seating nook Driftwood Village Cohousing, North Vancouver, co-located with active stairways and an elevator. (Emma Avery / Happy Cities)
Narrow definitions of amenity space limit the ability of design teams to create truly social buildings where opportunities for connection are woven into daily routines, rather than confined to a specific ‘social’ space—like a rooftop on the top floor of a building.
Regular encounters and shared activities can help neighbours build deeper relationships and mutual support over time. (Happy Cities)
To enable more neighbourly connections in multi-unit housing, cities can first expand the definition of social spaces beyond traditional amenities, and then offer clear guidelines and incentives for developers. For example, the City of North Vancouver’s Active Design Guidelines enable developers to build more overall floor space if they include features that promote physical activity and social connection, such as wide outdoor walkways, courtyards, and inviting stairs. These incentives make it easier to add social spaces without adding enormously to the overall cost of a building or jeopardizing a project’s financial viability. Shifting the focus to designing for wellbeing outcomes—for example, social connection—also creates flexibility for designers to propose creative solutions that respond to the site context and building demographics.
The key takeaway
Social connections are the building blocks for healthier, happier, more resilient communities. The actions presented in this article—walkable communities, diverse and affordable housing choices, and social design features—build these connections into our daily lives, ensuring that everyone has opportunities to grow, age, and thrive in the place they call home.
Further reading
Building social connections: Case studies to inspire socially connected multi-unit housing
Learning from community housing movements: Six principles for building happier homes
How social connectedness between neighbours supports health and well-being
Aging in the right place: Designing housing for wellbeing and older adults
