Canada needs more housing, but building in existing neighbourhoods often faces strong local opposition. Could gentle density be a solution?

In this episode of DemograFix, Cara Stern and Mike Moffatt discuss how infill housing, form-based zoning, and streamlined regulations could help Canada build more family-friendly homes while balancing concerns about neighbourhood character, infrastructure, parking, and density. They also examine multiplex debates in Toronto and Calgary, and whether zoning reform and condo rules are limiting new homeownership opportunities.

Topics covered:

• What is gentle density?
• Why Canada needs more family-friendly housing
• The fight over multiplexes and infill housing
• Toronto's sixplex debate
• Calgary's citywide upzoning rollback
• Form-based zoning explained
• Zoning vs. building code
• How standardized zoning could reduce red tape
• Parking, infrastructure, and neighbourhood concerns
• Creating more homeownership opportunities through gentle density
• Condo regulations and small-scale housing
• British Columbia's small-scale, multi-unit housing approach
• What Oregon is doing differently
• Should gentle density start with greenfield development?
• Can gentle density overcome NIMBY and YIMBY opposition?

Chapters:

00:00 – Canada’s Housing Problem and the Case for Gentle Density

01:25 – The Three Ways Cities Can Build More Housing

03:00 – Why Multiplexes Face Local Opposition

04:35 – Toronto’s Controversial Station Road Eightplex

06:15 – Calgary’s Upzoning Rollback

07:30 – What Is Gentle Density?

08:20 – Objection #1: Buildings Are Too Tall

09:35 – Form-Based Zoning Explained

11:05 – Zoning vs. Building Codes

12:15 – Objection #2: Buildings Are Too Large

13:05 – Objection #3: Parking and Infrastructure

14:25 – Can Gentle Density Benefit Existing Homeowners?

16:10 – Tiny Homes and Pocket Neighbourhoods

17:25 – Does Density Mean More Rental Housing?

19:00 – Making Small-Scale Homeownership Easier

20:25 – What Canada Can Learn From B.C. and Oregon

21:45 – Where Should Gentle Density Start?

23:00 – Can Gentle Density Actually Get Political Support?

24:15 – NIMBYs vs. YIMBYs: Is Gentle Density Too Mild?

25:00 – Moving Beyond Arbitrary Unit Counts

Research/links:

MMI Gentle Density Report: https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/p/from-policy-gridlock-to-housing-growth 

NIMBYs will Fight Even the Gentlest of Density

https://youtu.be/6WavljFV7fM?si=geir1FhAbhdgliv_

Nightmare on Craven Road: When Local Politics Derail Citywide Housing Goals

https://youtu.be/qVQ4gQRnOss?si=RFywNBKZedLERiuj

2025 Statcan Study: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2025005/article/00003-eng.htm

2026 Statcan Study: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/46-28-0001/2026001/article/00002-eng.htm

Toronto:

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/04/22/etobicoke-eightplex-site-mimico-residents-developer-toronto/

Calgary:

https://calgary.citynews.ca/2026/04/22/calgary-federal-housing-funds/ 

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/