![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Jennifer-Keesmaat.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto: Kerrisa Wilson<\/em><\/p>\n Toronto\u2019s former chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat has registered to run for mayor of Toronto, making her the only high profile candidate to challenge incumbent John Tory.<\/p>\n Keesmaat was the city\u2019s chief planner from 2012 to August 2017, when she resigned and began teaching at the University of Toronto. In her time with the city, she gained a wide following for her passionate advocacy for innovative urban planning.<\/p>\n Now that Keesmaat has officially thrown her hat into the mayoral ring, it\u2019s worth considering her stances on housing policy. Read on for 4 of her positions on the Toronto housing market.<\/p>\n Dedication to purpose-built rental<\/strong><\/p>\n This spring, Keesmaat was named CEO of the Creative Housing Society, an independent not-for-profit group established by West Bank founder Ian Gillespie. The group proposed the creation of 50,000 units of affordable purpose-built rental housing in Toronto and Vancouver, as part of the federal government\u2019s national housing strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s dedicated to building affordable, purpose-built rental housing at a scale that\u2019s really never been done before in the Canadian context,\u201d Keesmaat told TVO.org, in an interview earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n Purpose-built rental units accounted for only 1,000 of the 15,000 apartment units constructed in Toronto in 2016. Keesmaat explained that, in order for the 50,000 proposed units to become a reality, the government would have to provide land at a reduced price.<\/p>\n \u201cOur biggest challenge is going to be accessing land, because our model doesn\u2019t work if we have to pay market prices for land,\u201d Keesmaat said. \u201cThe role for the government here is to use an asset they\u2019ve already purchased, because there\u2019s a public interest in affordable rental housing.\u201d<\/p>\n Mid-rise development on Toronto\u2019s avenues<\/strong><\/p>\n In the ongoing debate about where to increase density in Toronto\u2019s downtown core, Keesmaat has said that its avenues are the logical choice for further housing development.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also see [the opportunity for development] on many of our avenues, because many of our avenues have great transit, two-storey (zoning), they\u2019re adjacent to neighbourhoods that have great parks and schools,\u201d she told the National Observer, in an interview last spring. <\/p>\n As for what type of housing should be built, she said that mid-rise developments made the most sense for established neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can accommodate density on those avenues in a relatively gentle way: mid-rise, between six to eight storeys,\u201d she said. \u201cThose are the places where we can accommodate this growth, while enhancing the walkability of the city, enhancing the transit-oriented nature of the city. Inclusionary zoning<\/strong><\/p>\n Inclusionary zoning is often tossed around as a solution to Toronto\u2019s affordable housing woes. Keesmaat offered her support for it when speaking with the National Observer last spring.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that we\u2019ve been pursuing, and have been working very closely with the province on, is inclusionary zoning,\u201d she said. \u201cInclusionary zoning exists in over 500 cities in the States \u2013 in New York, in Washington. Inclusionary zoning puts a requirement to build affordable housing as part of every market housing project. That\u2019s a way of having a public policy that piggybacks off the market to ensure that the housing needs of everyone in the city are in fact going to be met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThat\u2019s our goal. As we grow, we want to become more and more sustainable over time.\u201d<\/p>\n