When working in Oslo, I noticed a small housing development, clearly for those with low income, quite small but nice, near where I worked. The houses were probably no more than 400 square feet, and on small lots, but tastefully done, big enough for small young families apparently, with a short walk to transit. There didn't appear to be any provision for cars or parking, other than deliveries.

I wonder if something similar could work near Calgary. Land might be too expensive in Calgary proper, but maybe on the periphery (but near transit), or in nearby smaller cities or towns like Strathmore, Airdrie, or Okotoks. Probably, in Canada, there would need to be somewhere for a car (or car sharing?), for practical reasons.

Could a 400 square foot house be built and sold for $85,000, including land, with a mortgage about $500 a month? That's small, but I've sketched out a layout with a kitchen, eating area, two bedrooms, and one and a half baths, which looks plausible if frugal (not that I'm an architect). (Maybe one could find out what the Norwegians did.)

Edited by Jim Baker on Tuesday, November 21, 2006, 2:18 AM.

Some great models, it is interesting to think what could be done with limited space. There is a project in Winnipeg that I had in mind when I saw this topic but these examples take it several steps beyond.

I believe the Pocket Suite project was based on 300 square feet per unit but I can't find much info on it. I have requested further info on the project but in the meantime if anyone knows or finds more please post it.

The houses were probably no more than 400 square feet, and on small lots, but tastefully done, big enough for small young families apparently,

For an example of just how small one can go—and still have a livable, modern, home—see the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. They get as small as about 100 square feet. Given what can be done with such a tiny footprint, I don't think looking at shrinking the current standards in home building is at all unreasonable.

with a short walk to transit.

That's one of the keys to having affordable housing. It's not affordable if I have to drive all the time. That's why I pay the extra cost of living downtown—the difference in price is still cheaper than owning a car.

There didn't appear to be any provision for cars or parking, other than deliveries.

As someone who has purposefully managed to avoid car ownership for my whole life thus far, I like the sound of that!

I wonder if something similar could work near Calgary. Land might be too expensive in Calgary proper, but maybe on the periphery (but near transit), or in nearby smaller cities or towns like Strathmore, Airdrie, or Okotoks.

I would rather we looked at increasing density in existing neighbourhoods. And not just a few, but all neighbourhoods in the city. Along with that, increasing transit service.

For this city to become sustainable, we need to look at halting our growth in land consumption, and instead focus our growth on density.

We have one of the lowest population densities of any major city in the entire world. That may have worked in the last century, but we cannot sustain it in this one. Particularly since any growth will involve destroying prime agricultural land or critical wilderness areas. Given the global environmental crisis, any further destruction of agricultural land is, quite simply, insane.

Probably, in Canada, there would need to be somewhere for a car (or car sharing?), for practical reasons.

Plug: Carsharing in Calgary is run by the Calgary Alternative Transportation Co-operative (CATCO).

Could a 400 square foot house be built and sold for $85,000, including land, with a mortgage about $500 a month?

That's a good question. I wonder if anyone else in CHAI can help us get an answer?

Thanks for the link...that looks neat.

I wonder if land near downtown would be too expensive to make small houses work (more probably than the cost of the house?), unless perhaps there are odd lots that could be used.

On the edge of town, certainly land is cheap enough, if small lots are allowed.

Maybe a question of finding just the right location(s), with the balance of cost and proximity.

Perhaps a local person could be interested in building the houses (or perhaps the homeless unemployed, through the Mustard Seed or such, or a religious or charity group).

Could a bank be found to offer mortgages for these (with low downpayment), or even possibly a rent to own scheme through a real estate investment trust?

Would you be interested in being interviewed about your ideas for the book project we are currently working on?
Please take a peek at the stories/ documentation forum for more information, or feel free to email me at rachel.i.simpson@gmail.com.

I seem to remember an integrated housing scheme in (I think) Sweden, back in the early 1990's. I'll google it and see what comes up, but I remember it had small apartments, a large shared kitchen and no parking, and was intergenerational and affordable. I think it could work in Calgary(something like Prairie Sky only much cheaper)