Photo: 600sqftandababy

Last month, the City of Vancouver officially broke ground on a development in Southeast False Creek with 135 units of affordable housing designed for families.

"We want to ensure that families are not just able to live in Vancouver, but to thrive here. This project is creating more homes geared towards families in a neighbourhood where they can access outdoor recreation, community centres, transit and jobs," said Mayor Gregor Robertson. "We recognize the affordability crisis our city is facing and City Hall is doing everything we can to increase a wide range of housing opportunities in Vancouver."

This announcement got me thinking about what it takes to design family-friendly homes in a city like Vancouver, where single-family homes are now so out of reach for 99.9% of the population. We obviously need to live smaller and closer together. This is totally possible - we already see families in Europe, Japan and Hong Kong embracing compact housing in order to live in cities.  I asked some of my friends and fellow urban bloggers with children what they look for in a compact attached home in the city (i.e. condo, row home, townhouse, duplex, etc.):

Photo: Ournestinthecity

Three Bedrooms: Whenever city planners talk about family-friendly homes, the consensus seems to be that they should ideally have three bedrooms. This allows for a family to have more flexibility in how they use their space. The spare room can function as an office, bedroom, recreation room, workshop, etc. Adrian Crook at 5kids1condo, does a great job explaining how to maximize space in a three bedroom condo.  Ultimately, the extra bedroom allows families some extra space and breathing room; however three bedroom condos and townhomes are rare and hard to find in Vancouver. 

Storage, Storage, Storage: As hard as you try, having kids means having more stuff (you have to clothe them, feed them and keep them entertained after all). It doesn't have to mean buying a lot of stuff, but families do have more storage needs. Family-friendly homes should include kitchens with ample cupboard space to the ceilings, entryway closets, bedroom closets, crawl spaces, storage lockers and any other creative ways to add more storage without taking up space. 

High Ceilings and Lots of Natural Light: According to Alison Mazurek of 600sqftandababy (who will soon be adding a second child to her 600 sqft home), the main things families need to live and love their small space are ample amounts of natural light and high ceilings.  "These two elements can make most small spaces feel bigger and more livable. High ceilings also allow for high hidden storage," she says. I couldn't agree more.   

Photo: 600sqftandababy

An Entryway: It seems to be a trend in urban homes now to forgo the entryway for more square footage. This poses a problem for families because when you enter the home with muddy, dirty kids, you need a station where you can wipe their feet, hang their coats and put away their shoes. One local developer I spoke to, Daniel Boffo at Boffo Properties, describes how they are building family-friendly developments that include bathrooms that double as mudrooms on the ground floor (with hand held showers, for dog washing made easy!).

Outdoor Space: I recently met with Kevin Quinlan, Deputy Chief of Staff to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, and we talked about what families want in city homes. He asked me if outdoor space is important and I said ideally, families would like a small space they where they could entertain outdoors. The reality is that families don't get out much once the kids are in bed, so having some outdoor space to BBQ and have friends over is a nice amenity. Kevin brought up the excellent idea of building row homes/townhomes/triplexes with rooftop terraces - a clever way to add outdoor space without taking up additional real estate for a garden.

A Washer/Dryer: I don't even have to explain this. Kids get dirty. Clothing piles up. An ensuite washer/dryer is necessity. Ideally the stackable ones that save space.

Two Bathrooms: According to Adrian Crook, "Take it from me, if you can get two bathrooms, do it. I'm not sure I appreciated this as much as I should have before moving in. We have two bathrooms, but at times I've wondered how we'd do it with just one. There'd be a lot of legs crossed standing at the door banging on it if we had 50% fewer toilets."

Sound-Proofing: Kids run around and make noise (so do adults), so when you are living on top of and close to each other, it is crucial to provide good sound-proofing between units, between rooms and even between the inside and outside. According to Darin of ATLUrbanist, "The sound proofing between units is fine for us, but we could definitely use more sound proofing between us and the street noise outside. We have 100 year old windows that don't block out the noise from outdoor concerts, loud cars, ambulances or rowdy crowds at night on downtown streets. So we have to use "white noise" machines in the bedrooms at night to help mask the noise."

Photo: 5kids1condo

Flexible, Adaptable Living Space: When you are living in a smaller space with children, every bit of space counts and needs to be adaptable for many uses. Families can't afford to have wasted space and would prefer large living rooms over walk-in closets, useless hallways, and the weird angles that you see in condos that are asymmetrical in shape. According to Adrian, "For small spaces to function for families I believe all areas of the home must be multi-use. This includes but is not limited to; shared bedrooms, expanding furniture, and multi-use furniture.  We need to think differently about how we use our space…for example, living rooms can be play rooms as long as toys are hidden away in bins or baskets when needed."

Access to Schools and Amenities: The best part of living in the city for families is being able to walk everywhere, including my son's daycare, the playground, grocery stores and much more. It is why I choose to live in the city and it is the healthiest, best decision I made - not just for me, but for my husband and my son - who now squirms and cries every time I put him in a car seat. Developers are now starting to see the advantage of building family-friendly homes in the city. According to Daniel Boffo, "We like to think of our homes as connecting to the social fabric of the neighbourhood - in that your home extends outside to the greater community. The amenities and living rooms of our homes are the neighbourhoods themselves, with parks and schools, local cafes and stores as the hub that's just around the corner."

It is my hope that as more families chose to live in cities, we can inspire others to do the same by building homes that meet their needs. As Montreal mom at OurNestintheCity states in a recent blog post, "Don't cry for us. City living is the greatest, but you've got to get out to experience it. We have several parks within five minutes walking distance. We have a free public pool within ten minutes on foot. We have bike lanes up and down the street adjacent to us. Countless free museums and activities are just a quick metro ride away (and the metro station is three minutes from our house). Have I won you over yet?"