While all levels of Canadian government try to develop ways to allow for missing middle projects so many cities are lacking, early examples have some critics asking, ‘who exactly will be able to afford this?’
Talks of filling the “missing middle” have dominated Toronto’s urban planning and housing agenda as of late. The missing middle typically refers to buildings that have a higher density than a single-family house and a lower density than a mid-rise building. This means laneway and garden housing, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, and low-rise apartment buildings.
The legal construction of such units on lots traditionally zoned for single-family homes is now possible in Toronto, thanks to new(ish) zoning bylaw amendments. The idea is to allow for gentle densification in an era of rapid urban population growth and to open up housing options for people in desirable neighbourhoods. In theory, the concept – while seen as just once piece of the puzzle to address the city’s impossible-to-ignore housing crisis – is intended to help with housing affordability. In fact, it was the major selling feature behind the approval of those aforementioned bylaw amendments.