**1. Introduction**

Cities are recognised as divers of the urban economy and centres of innovation, but experience a persistent shortage of affordable housing and growing social inequalities that affect the health and well-being of urban communities [1]. In the context of fiscal austerity and global inflation, the growing shortage of affordable housing in Canadian cities is affected by changing politics, housing market inefficiencies and concentration of urban poverty. Regardless of important historic and economic differences across Canadian cities, the recent pandemic exacerbated existing social inequalities and social exclusion [2] and demonstrated the importance of affordable housing. People need a place to call home more than ever, a place that provides shelter from economic and social stress, a place to live, work, educate the children, care for family members and maintain public safety through social distancing. Governments during recent lockdowns provided emergency shelters for the homeless, extended mortgage payments, introduced rent deferral and other

emergency measures to temporarily shelter people from immense housing difficulties and protect the public [3]. The unprecedented challenges to public health in cities have demonstrated the need to consider affordable housing as a critical part of social infrastructure that requires sustained long-term investment and support to establish a resilient ecosystem. Social equity has emerged as a key urban policy, including the need for strategic transformation of our built environments using principles of social, environmental and economic sustainability [4].

Within this context, the research addresses a vital area for urban planning that can contribute to more inclusive and equitable cities. It identifies a solution to the affordable housing crisis through adaptive reuse of heritage buildings in inner-city communities. The focus is on the experience of Canadian cities, home to over 80% of the people in Canada, where the growing shortage of affordable housing has prompted urgent action by all three levels of government. Recognising the environmental, economic and social synergies of adaptive reuse of heritage for affordable housing, the research outlines a framework for sustainable neighbourhood regeneration. Using insights from different projects, it offers a blueprint for diverse implementation at different scales—from project-based intervention to strategic neighbourhood regeneration through integrated programs and partnerships. The research methodology includes literature review of studies on affordable housing and adaptive reuse to develop a conceptual framework for sustainable heritage conservation strategies. This is complemented with a nested case study method, combining analysis of projects in Canadian cities to illustrate patterns of diversity. Given the importance of sustainability to adapt built heritage for affordable housing, the methodology also includes content analysis of planning and policy documents pertaining to the research focus, key informant interviews and visits to project sites.

The research approach draws on housing and heritage planning studies. These two streams provide opportunity to connect diverse policy perspectives to planning and urban design aspects critical for the advancement of social sustainability in the city [5, 6]. The research views built heritage as a spatial arena of adjustment through adaptive reuse where sustainability planning and design generate positive outcomes for people and historic places. Insights from successful projects highlight possible synergies and partnerships to address both the lack of affordable housing and the loss of historic and cultural heritage in Canadian cities. Heritage conservation and housing share a strong synergistic tie that underscores the importance of urban social sustainability [7, 8].

Adaptive reuse is a process that converts heritage buildings to new use, maximising the economic and social benefits of heritage structures while restoring their value to a community [9]. It provides a physical link to the past social, economic and cultural development of a place, retaining a sense of the previous form while providing opportunities for the future [10]. Through adaptive reuse of heritage planners have the opportunity to address displacement in low-income inner-city communities, contribute to larger community well-being and sense of place. The strategy proposed in this research capitalises on the untapped potential of adaptive reuse of historic buildings for non-market housing with a social purpose. These tangible assets of our cultural heritage have become physically or functionally obsolete due to rapid societal changes in technology, standards and local economies. Most obsolete historic buildings are either demolished, resulting in a loss of over 20% of Canadian heritage, or converted into museums, luxurious apartments and entertainment complexes as heritage are often perceived as a commodity [6, 11]. It is essential to reimagine these places in a creative way to increase the small share of non-market, socially

*Perspective Chapter: Reimaging Affordable Housing through Adaptive Reuse of Built Heritage DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110072*

owned housing, which is less than 6% in Canada. Due to the front-end loaded nature of housing costs, the process is dependent on a consistent alignment of a range of financial and regulatory instruments, such as cost-sharing government programs that subsidise the capital-intensive conversion as well as a variety of planning incentives (e.g. inclusionary zoning, reduced land costs and taxes, alternative standards) to incentivise development and heritage conservation.
