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Density, Distribution & Cost

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Density, Distribution & Cost Density, tion&Costi l I I I I I I I l I l I '-{.{*n*G ; I i' i ,1 r' r- F DENSTTY, DISTRIBUTION AND COSTS HOUSING STUDY ) Sponsored by the .Centre for Urban and Community Studies,t University, of foronto Funded by Ltre eentral Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Ottawa PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR : A. J. Diamond RESEARCH ASSOCIATES: John Bizzell Robert van Spyk CONSULTANT: Dr. W. Michelson RESEARCH TEAIVI: Terry Cecil Peter Turner Maldwyn Williams r April I970 r t_ \ TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1 Introduction 1 2 Occupant Characteristics 16 3 Dwelling 23 4 Exterior Space 30 5 Circulation 45 6 Public Safety 59 7 Built Forrn 63 I Zoning 86 9 Field Analysis 101 10 Costs 110 1T Demonstrat.ion 152 Appendix A: Analytical Sampling l--43 Appendix B: Space as A Variable in Sociological Inquiry 1- 35 Appendix C: Household Activity Analysis 1-10 I Appendix D: Housing Issues r-7 Appendix E: Bibliography 1-8 i l_ "/ \ ] Introduction 1 J l I ) 1 INTRODUCTlON The reasons for undertaking this research may be simply stated: at present the predominant forms of housing built are at two ends of the density scale either very low or very high. Further, the small amount of housing which attempts to fill the middle ground does not satisfy the needs of occupants in general, and low income family urban dwellers in particular. Thus our attempts have been to investigate whether the characteristics of the highly favoured single family dwelling could be incorporated into housing forms in the middle range of densities. Our original proposal of intent may be used at this stage as a guide in evaluating the study's results. The proposal was as follows: ''BACKGROUND "The cond.ition in the present stock of housing that prompts this research proposal is that few alternate forms of com- bining units exist. Of the present alternatives, myths persist about their efficacy as agents for the efficient use of land in terms of densitv and in terms of cost. "The main argument advanced against low rise housing in urban areas is the allegedly much greater area requirement. ) I The prejudice is no doubt due to the fact that the notion of 1ow rise housing is associated with the large suburban areas which surround cities. Evidence that the area re- quired for concentrated low rise housing is not much greater than that required for multi-storey housing is being accumulated.r It is possible, it would seem, to provide two-storey housing with up to 40 units per acre. In England, back-to-back houses in working class districts in industrial cities in the nineteenth century, while falling short of many contemporary minimum standards, arrived at population densities of 600 persons or 150 units per acre. "In terms of cost, if multi-storey housing and low rise housing are compared, the concentration of utility install- ations, and savings in basement space and roof area , are primb facie regarded as technical-economic advantages of the former. The latter seems costlier because of the roof- relatively higher cost of foundations ' basements and itg, and because of the need for a private staircase in two-storey houses. "Closer investigation, however, would reveal that the heavier load in tal1 buildings calls for more solid construction; as a result of by-laws and fire codes staircases are costly in talI buildings, and above fire storeys the costs of el-evators ' HuberL Hoffman, Row Houses and Cluster Houses, An International Survey; Sir Leslie Martin, Westminster Development \ 3 must be added. Furthermore, secondary emergency stair- cases are still insisted upon by building codes. The ratio of storage area of basements per unit becomes progressively smaller as the building height j-ncreases. Thus the only economic advantage might be the cost of roofing, which could conceivably be offset by other costs of heavy structures which require expensive plant for construction. "Briefly, the generic categories of single family units that are now available to the public as users, and to development agents as builders, are: la - detached units. b - multi-family Iow rise housing, defined as not exceeding three storeys in vertical assemblage. 2a'multi-family'1ess medium rise housing, defined as not than three storeys and not-more than four or five storeys in vertical assemblage. b - multi-family high rise housing, defined as housing which exceeds five storeys in height, and requires mechanical means of vertical movement. "The organizational- distinction between the first category and the second, besides the physical dimension, is that in the former each unit has private access to the ground, while in the latter shared entrances to units and indirect access to the ground obtain. Under present development practices, densities in dwelling units per residential acre are roughly the following: 4l la- four to five b six to eight 2a- eight to twelve b twelve to twenty and higher "The Research Program - A "In order to demonstrate the benefits of alternate forms of housing unit amalgamation, factors of density, distribu- tion and cost need to be compared between those associated with presenL housing alternatives, and those to be explored in the second part of the study. It is intended that the explorations take account of the inadequacies discovered in part A, as well as improve upon present practices of build- ing and land usage. "Hence in the first phase of the study, it is proposed to record the density, distribution and cost and spatj-al characteristics of the housing categories listed above. Available work accomplished to date will be used in mapping this picture. Amongst the work that the research will actively exploit will be Kumove's on the characteristics of apartment dwelIers, the studies of the Metropolitan Toronto Social Planning Council, Michelson's data on people and property in Toronto, DBS census district 1eve1 enumeration tapes, Gerson's study on housing, and Metropolitan and City of Toronto planning board studies. "This work and the co-operation of the agencies listed will \- l 5 to a large extent expedite the research described in points I, II, III, and V that follow. The material for point III and VI will be elicited from Quantity Surveyors, and through the co-operation of developers. Cadillac Construction and The Rubin Corporation have indicated their willingness to assist the study, ds has the Parkdale Mobile Homes Company. Graduate students of the department of Socj-ology, under the direction of Dr. William Michelson,' will assist in gathering the information, and processing the data for point VII. "SpecJ-fica1ly, the first phase of the study would, principally within the boundaries of Metropolitan Toronto, select sufficient examples of the generic categories of the housing types outlined above, in order to: I - Accurately map densities of present, typical housing categories. II Record family types and sizes that inhabit these forms of housing. flf - Analyze the capital and operating costs associated with the housing types. IV - Record size of units j-n each category in living space' usable space and gross space per person and per family. V - PIot quantity and evaluate quality of outdoor space, in gross quantity and unit space per person, and assess this in terms of private, semi-private and public space. VI Record physical performances standards orientation, prospect, sound insulation, etc. VII Elicit from users, through interviews, their perceived spatia1needs,preferredhousingforms,desiredre1a- tionships to public and private outdoor space' range of amenities, and list considered inadequacies. 6 "The Research Program - B "The Committee gave consideration to undertaking part B first in the form of a feasibility study. This strateqy was rejected because the value of part B would not be demonstrable without establishing the facts of costs, distribution and density that currently prevail. "In the second part of the study it is therefore proposed that, based on the findings in costs and densities in A, explorations be made in alternate forms of housing-unit amalgamations, Topologically it is possible to demonstrate more efficient forms of space distribution than those currently employed. Via explorations in space packing or solid geometry, a wide range of unit amalgamations can be shown to have the potential of increasing density. Specific- ally; the study will probably follow this procedure: I - Establish the principle of efficient three dimensional geometric spatial relationships in abstract; then 1I establish the principle of efficient three dimensional geometric spatial relationships with the theoretical constraints of orientation, ventilation, access, utility services, privacy and those relevant factors discovered in A; then IrI introduce to the principles of spatial relationships the constraints of building technology and the current structure of the building industry. "It is within these constraints that it is believed that a significant breakthrough in new housing forms may be made; housing that approximates the privacy and scale of the suburbs, yet achieves this at much greater densities (hence land /l l conservation) and at lower costs. And this in forms which allow much greater manipulation to meet social criteria. "To date, opposing ideals have led different authors to postulate, or at least try to justify extreme solutions - extreme concentration on the one handr 2 and extreme decentralization on the other hand.3 In our opinion, density should not only be approprj-ate but include criteria other than that of quantity the qualitative aspects of environ- mental appropriateness to family type and mix, appropriate behavioural criteria such as enhanced contact making, privacy, surveillancer or other factors considered by the urban socio- logist to be important. It is, in our opinion, important to destroy the fal-se polemic of horizontal versus vertical housinq. "The building industry is qeared to produce, via numbers of small and medium sized contractors, a large segment of the housing market.
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