Laneway Reinvention

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.  We have all come to know this 3-word moniker as a mantra for dealing with the billions of pounds of refuse we humans generate annually.  But those three widely recognized words could soon be coming to a laneway near you.  The ability to purchase a home or more urgently to find affordable rental units is reaching a critical stage.  The scarcity of available housing has the City of Toronto dusting off some old studies and taking a second, more urgent look at what could be done to remedy this ever-increasing problem.

One solution is Laneway homes.  Affordable units perched above laneway garages and attached to the principal home’s city services, could alleviate the burdening and endless array of some permit requirements and other obstacles while offering a very smart solution to a currently dismal rental market.

Richard Trapunski wrote an interesting and thought-provoking article in Now Magazine which offers the reader an insight into the problem and possible solutions in the form of Laneway Houses.  Reduce the urgency of an ever-diminishing rental market.  Reuse available space to the benefit of homeowners and renters alike. And Recycle the neglected garages into viable living spaces.  Let’s hope we see some serious action in this positive direction and not have the momentum fall victim to red tape and bureaucracy as it has in the past.

To read the article click here