Infill Housing Strategy
Randy and Garry attended an information meeting hosted by the City of Winnipeg who are consulting the public about establishing a Residential Infill Strategy for new housing. Front line city planners were in attendance and they wanted the public to fill in a "Have Your Say" survey card with 4 yes or no questions and a "What do you think should be considered in an infill strategy"? comments section. The survey is available by following the link:
winnipeg.ca/infillstrategy.
The city says that they have no plan in mind and will listen to the feedback but the front line planning people certainly know many of the code and policy barriers that frustrate the process of infill development already.
We, as usual, expressed our bewilderment about the fact that we have known for 40 years how to use insulation to reduce home energy consumption by 90% but the city has no strategy to make sufficient insulation a priority either for residential or commercial.
Our experience is when talking to young professionals in city planning and architecture they understand Passive House standards and are aware of the damage and consequences if humanity does not embrace the problem of energy use. They understand that 30% of the energy used in Canada is to heat and cool buildings, and they know that building to passive standards would reduce that usage by 90%. They are frustrated that in North America senior planners and architects ignore this clear opportunity to help reduce GHG. Senior decision makers prefer to take baby steps or recommend expensive techno-fixes and then have the gall to call their projects "green or sustainable".
Our advice is: Any infill strategy must require that the building meet Passive Standard. Decisions made today will affect the inhabitants of the building for the next 100 years. (year 2117) We walk the walk. Our
482 Kylemore Ave. infill project house is scheduled to be completed by January 1st, 2018. It will be a Net Zero Energy home and will save the owner of the home an estimated $218,038 over the next 60 years compared to a code built house.(Life-cycle costs SRPCanada)
We have shared this with the city. Will it make a difference?
Garry Proven
Added: Fri October 27th 2017
