by Claudia Chan | As fortunate as I am having been born and raised with the city in my backyard, I’ve always been told that I would one day have to move to places in far out suburbia if ever I wanted to set up homestead with the proverbial white picket fence, two kids and all. It’s now over two decades later, and the narrative hasn’t changed very much. Here I am, still vying to stay on city grounds, and unable to buy anything in a town utterly subjugated by expensive, large-scale developments. Is there a foreseeable future for me as a viable property owner here?

Maybe, but the challenges of affordability and spacing remain the same. While many of us live an exceptional quality of life in the city, our housing situations are not always permanent solutions. So how do we create spaces that can accommodate a growing population in an economically and environmentally sustainable way?

With the intention of addressing such a question, the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing and Affordability recently launched an “open ideas” competition. In this dialogue with the public, The City is seeking out the most provocative, creative, new and innovative ideas on housing alternatives. Local residents, developers, artists, and housing planners have been encouraged to put forth ideas that would address the issues of spacing, affordability, community needs, land use, green space, feasibility and financial viability.

A few hundred people gathered last Thursday at Yaletown Roundhouse with their open minds to see these ideas in exhibition. Some of the proposals were bold and daring. They included stacked containers, interstitial housing, vertical farms, a stadium-like complex, aquatic communities, sea containership living and viaduct housing, to name just a few.

The responses thus far have garnered a mix of curiosity, intrigue, inspiration and critique. It is undeniably challenging to satisfy all the criteria of creating the ideal abode with mass appeal. There are no quick and easy solutions to our housing challenge but maybe some of these ideas are the first stepping-stones to getting there. Perhaps I won’t have to move outside city limits after all, that is if my dream of the white picket fence can be reimagined. What do you think? Can you see yourself living in the middle of the Burrard Inlet or in a container somewhere by Railtown? How far off are we from living in a shoe made out of recyclable materials? That’s for you to judge.

To view the submissions and vote, click here: http://www.rethinkhousing.ca.

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Claudia Chan is an advocate of all things green. Born and raised in Vancouver, she is inspired by the work of local urban farmers, eco artists and policy makers who make this city the most lush and livable to work and play in. Her mission with Scout and her “Greenlight” column is to impart her enthusiasm for bike lanes, community gardens, farmers’ markets and more to her fellow Vancouverites.