The Affordable Housing Solutions Lab (AHSL) empowers citizens to innovate, co-create and develop effective local affordable housing solutions.
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One solution to ending poverty in Edmonton
In 2016, End Poverty Edmonton (EPE) recommended the creation of "a community based learning project to look at housing and zoning innovation in Edmonton."
In light of this, City Council dedicated funding to the "development and profession of housing innovation in Edmonton." The Affordable Housing Solutions Lab stems directly from this recommendation and is intended to support the goal of the EPE to end poverty in our city within a generation.
Housing Statistics in Edmonton
The current state of housing in Edmonton:
| Total number of private households (2016): | 360,830 |
| Number of households where either major repairs are needed, the housing is not suitable, or 30% or more of household income is spent on shelter costs (2016): | 117,035 |
| Number of households in owner-occupied dwelling (2016): | 232,000 |
| Number of households in rental dwelling (2016): | 128,830 |
| Number of renter households living in subsidized housing (2016): | 13,690 |
| Average rental wage for 2 bedroom apartment, after-tax (Oct. 2019): | $4,200/month or $50,520/year |
| Average mortgage wage for single- detached dwelling, after-tax (CMA, Oct. 2019): | $6,438.90/month or $77,266.80/year |
Housing lab partners & sponsors
Our lab's mandate
The City of Edmonton has mandated the Affordable Housing Solutions Lab "To develop and support the progression of housing innovation in Edmonton with a lens on studying the effects of affordable housing on reducing poverty in Edmonton."
Partnering to end poverty
The work of the Affordable Housing Solutions Lab will be done in partnership with MacEwan University, as MacEwan University's Social Innovation Institute simultaneously has been developing an affordable housing initiative with the Edmonton Community Development Company , to economically innovate and produce prototypes aiming to reduce the costs of creating and maintaining affordable housing with or without tenant rental subsidies.
