Vancouver — Appendix J: West End RM Design Guidelines for Infill Housing

The wider laneways that are typical of the West End present a unique opportunity to develop ground-oriented family housing that will increase the diversity and availability of rental homes in the community while still maintaining integral right of way and utility functions. 

In line with the West End Community Plan, infill development will be encouraged on suitable sites to deliver residential buildings on the lanes. The process of infilling existing under-utilized frontages to the lane with additional buildings requires sensitive and creative design, with a focus not only on creating neighbourly relationships with adjacent development but also on the manner in which lanes are treated and their resultant public realm character. It is important that lanes are treated properly based on their intended role within the neighbourhood’s public realm as smaller and more intimate in scale pedestrian routes with less traffic, while at the same time ensuring that they still support the necessary service functions.

Vancouver — Livable Lanes: A Study of Laneway Infill Housing in Vancouver and Other Growing B.C. Communities

The term “laneway housing” or “carriage housing” refers to a detached form of infill housing that is ancillary to a principal dwelling and typically located in a rear yard and oriented towards the lane.

This research presents single-lot, laneway, infill housing as a key part of an overall residential intensification strategy that Canadian municipalities can use to help meet critical housing needs while meeting a range of other key sustainability objectives. Laneway infill housing can occur incrementally without requiring redevelopment or parcel assembly, which can be onerous in time and expense.

With a focus on Vancouver, this research establishes opportunities for expanding laneway housing and identifies a number of key barriers limiting or preventing its adoption. The results of the research are a set of specific recommendations and strategies that municipalities can use to overcome barriers to expanding this form of housing in residential neighbourhoods.

Portland — The Infill Design Toolkit: Medium-Density Residential Development

This guide is intended to serve as a resource for community members—builders, designers, neighbors and others—all who are involved in designing, building, or participating in dialogue about the new development that continues to shape the form of Portland’s neighborhoods. Its focus is on new “infill” development in established neighborhood areas, particularly where continuation of positive aspects of existing character is a community priority. Infill development can take place as construction on vacant land or as redevelopment that replaces pre-existing buildings.

Chicago — Urban Design Strategy Report

As commute times lengthen, energy prices rise, and housing preferences change, compact, walkable urban designs have gained a higher profile nationwide. The Chicago region is no exception. Affluent suburbanites are returning to the central city and new mixed-use, transit-oriented developments are emerging in communities like Glenview and Grayslake. Recent research links compact, mixed-use developments to improved health, vibrant economies and many other social and environmental benefits. As the GO TO 2040 plan develops, good urban design will serve as the foundation on which many other regional strategies are built.

This report defines “good urban design,” identifies elements of this concept, and provides examples of how it can be measured. It also describes the effects of implementing urban design, rather than conventional development, in terms of economics, transportation, environment, and other areas. Finally, the report describes the differing effects of applying urban design in different parts of the region. This report addresses transit oriented development (TOD), which is essentially the application of urban design principles near transit; the redevelopment of greyfield sites; and the planning of new greenfield development sites using urban design principles within the development.

Calgary — Medium Density Design Brief

The Medium Density In ll development pattern doubles the population and jobs in existing low density residential neighbourhoods. The target areas for this type of intensify cation are those where there is a need for growth (e.g. areas close to City Centre). By intensifying population within existing neighbourhoods in the city, this pattern significantly supports Sustainability Principle 8: Support compact development; and, 7: Strategically direct and manage redevelopment opportunities within existing areas.