A ‘Special’ Solution to the Housing Crisis: Uytae Lee's Stories About Here 

Thanks again for having me on CBC!

I love how urban planning is becoming something people actually care about Follow “About Here” for more videos from Uytae lee

Thank you for making another one of Uytae's great videos public for people outside of Canada!

Great short documentary. Coquitlam also has pre-approved triplex and fourplex plans but the approved neighbourhoods remain limited. Another problem to highlight is financing for new middle-housing construction. Right now, middle-housing construction stalls during high-interest periods. Pent up demand accumulates, and when the buyers finally return, there is little supply to satisfy the demand thus causing prices to rise over a short period. We need a financing mechanism that encourages a steady supply of middle-housing irrespective of interest rates. Otherwise, we will repeat price spikes like 2015-2017 and 2020-2022 again and again.

My friend rents in a home in Calgary that is similar to the Vancouver special. It was retrofitted to have 4 apartment units in it, 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom. It’s a really nice apartment & it would be interesting to see more houses like that be converted to apartments with 1-2 bedroom suites in it.

You knocked it out of the park so far you hit one of the Vancouver specials across the street! This is truly an excellent piece!

"Why cant these poor's just be happy in their tents, away from my neighborhood"- Vancouver

Uytae you are so informative and comprehensive. Hope you will get your own channel one day.

A very well done article, quite entertainment and very informative. Keep up the great work.

Vancouver specials have a special place in my heart.

Still it doesn't stop renovictions and people Not renting out their houses to drive the rental market up...no compassion when greed and money or on the table. A record numbers of people giving away their pets because no pets allowed rule. a system full of loop holes that benefit multiple home owners . This is the new meaning of Vancouver Special.

I whole heartedly agree. We need a new affordable special and there are enough planners out there to make a nice one!

Uytae, your next video should discuss the Vancouver "laneway" home and how it is helping single-family zoning densify without too much hassle.

But the quad Plex is a nightmare to live in. But enough sounds insulation between units, no yards, often lacking garages, or having detached ones that are a pain to get to if you have the "wrong" unit. And there's that one unit tucked in the corner. I bought an old house specifically for the land size...

The Vancouver special something like that is similar here in Australia. Used to park underneath her house and walk up the steps. Three bedroom one bathroom Now the houses are like 300 m² block

Now this is journalism.

The Westend is consistently lauded.

As usual, NIBMY-ism kills progress. Also, Uytae is doing an awesome job!

Very informative and interesting ! Thanks

I see Uytae, I click

Very well done! Good to be thinking out loud about possible solutions and innovations to try to solve the housing imbalance across Canada. Hopefully excellent, workable ideas will become policy and that progress and change can be made in the years ahead. Ideas should come from around the world. Many countries like Holland and Japan, countries with much higher population densities, do not have an endless housing crisis like Canada does. There won't be any simple solutions. Canada as we know it will have to change big. There will have to be real decisions made. Some combination of reducing immigration, rezoning, higher density, and new cities around Canada will have to be proposed. The government should get more involved to force change. Taxing capital gains on homes can be a way to help pay for this. Money should be put into the stock market invested in dynamic businesses like Shopify or Constellation Software, for long term investing gains. Not in housing. Housing should not be the investment vehicle and "market" that it is. Food, clothing, and shelter. Canada has a large % of people living in poverty. The status quo all around needs to change because things are pretty bad currently for a lot of people in Canada.

The Vancouver Specials look so cool. A simple renovation would make them very nice!

It's times like this when I remember what can make the CBC so good. I'd love to see the CBC partner more often with Canadian youtubers / content creators. For it to be a place that showcases the very best of all Canadian content-not just content made for CBC.

I think there is some nostalgia for the Vancouver Special, because it reminds people of their childhoods growing up in Vancouver, but I don't think most people would want to see the resurgence of thousands of Vancouver specials being built all over the city again.

Very interesting video. When we came to Vancouver 20+ years ago, Vancouver special was everywhere and quite ugly though. But it is definitely an affordable housing option for people.

I just want to point out the fact that condos are Vancouver Specials... You still can't build enough for them to be affordable.

Maybe just create a roster of fast approve designs so the builders/buyers can choose and add a little bit of diversity to the neighborhoods. Then add laws that x amount of the same design can not be in a single neighborhood to force design diversity from the roster if one of the designs seems to gain too much popularity.

I don't live in a Vancouver special. I had NO IDEA the Vancouver special was THAT long.... Imagine having a whole Vancouver special to yourself? My house is a little smaller, but 3 levels

Rather have one new "special", why not have a whole series of designs that are pre-approved with an expiry date for each design (say 7 years). As each design expires, it is replaced with a new pre-approved design.

"A ‘Special’ Solution to the Housing Crisis" I'm not sure the type and style of the houses in Vancouver is the cause of the Crisis, out of control cost of housing might be worth looking into. Although this was a nice piece of nostalgia and a bit of a history lesson architecturally. But to not mention cost at all is a bit short sighted in my opinion.

You can’t have affordable housing, and complain it looks affordable. Imagine if we made it illegal for one car to be popular because too many people bought it and other people that don’t own it don’t like how it looks.

nice video.

Making affordable housing en masse simply segregates working class people into their own neighborhoods away from opportunities. Housing developments should encourage mixed income neighborhoods to promote social harmony. Varied housing designs to attract people of all income levels should be encouraged.

Cities need to build more medium density housing. Having skyscrapers 100 feet away from single family homes is insane. This is what happens when low density zoning creates an artificial scarcity of buildable land.

Government should tackle on " peope , rich people, using houses as an investment tools" House is a commodity for everyone.

People are trying maintain the rising value of their home investment through scarcity at the expense of everyone else including their own children... When you are homeless, repetitive in appearance doesn't mean squat.

I hate CBC but this kids alright

Or we could just do things the way Japan does it. Live upstairs, work downstairs, build what you need.

Because so many people overpaid for homes even while loan rates were low, I believe there will be a housing catastrophe because these people are in debt. If housing costs continue to drop and, for whatever reason, they can no longer afford the property and it goes into foreclosure, they have no equity since, even if they try to sell, they will not make any money. I believe that many individuals will experience this, especially given the impending mass layoffs and rapidly rising living expenses.

Growing up, my mom called our house a “Vancouver special “ I really thought she was lying and just wanted us to feel unique… haha she was right…

Literally all of these problems are caused by zoning and permitting rules. Building the same, repetitive building is infinitely better than having people sleep on the streets. If zoning and permitting were cheaper and faster, people would have more money to build unique buildings in the first place.

In order to buy cheaply, I'm waiting for a housing crisis after selling a few houses in 2020. I've been considering buying stocks as a fallback. Do you have any advice on when is the greatest time to make a purchase? On one hand, I continue to see and read about traders making more than $$$k per week. On the other hand, I constantly hear that the market is crazy and in the midst of a dead cat bounce. What causes this?

Can't wait to see what the next special has in store for us.

The Vancouver special is so iconic. Thanks for giving us some context for it's place in our history!

Why doesn't Vancouver host a competition for a dozen templates of "Vancouver Specials" so that they don't look all the same but adhere to the same specifications (lot size, square footage, and levels, etc)? I believe this will stifle most critics and provide quick housing to newcomers.

Or just make it illegal to use housing as a financial instrument, you know like the actual problem. We have real estate, we just rather use it for the profit derived from equity than using it as a structure that shelters human beings.

The priority should be getting people in homes, not maximizing property value or community character - those come second. The homeless population of North America has exploded over the last 20 years and somehow NIMBYs and city councils have not gotten the memo...

Since moving to Canada, I’ve lived in basement suites. It’s not a fun experience. There’s almost always pressure to use less utilities. I had one landlord frequently go into my kitchen although he lived upstairs to make sure everything was tidy. One landlord tried to hike my rent by 300 dollars because she mistakenly believed another person had moved in with me. None of these antics are legal but usually the upstairs landlord is too amaturish to know this. There’s also a general sense of being watched. It could be that my experience is particular but I think renters perspectives are almost always missing from these kinds of think pieces.

My house just made it into this vid lol

Having multiple options of quick approval housing would increase the longevity of the designs. More options also allow for different sizes of builds, especially important for infill that is a net gain for income for the city. More upfront work, and more payoff in the future.

American style zoning is a major reason why housing is so expensive, yet at the same time, amenities and services are so far away from everyone's home. But it also ensure property value to increase overtime (by limiting the supply) so many home owners don't want it to be changed.

Can we just get rid of front yards and build in them? The building set back rules waste so much space and no one even uses their front yard

Orrrrr we could just ban single family zoning like California did. Enough with the Nimbys...

Whomever this young man was giving this narration, well done! I've rarely heard a presentation given with such clarity and precise inflection. Also, whomever wrote this presentation did a great job!

Much of the housing crisis is a government issue. They did it post war. There is lots of land in Canada. They need the will to do it. But government has too much incentive in it. The government makes a lot on Condos....ie a 800K condo is 160k tax.

Uytae's content is one of the best in my urban design, housing binge. It's so informative with great storytelling! Also CBC Vancouver has been uploading some great stories.

One of the interesting twists on the history of Special has been the surge in popularity of 'mid-century design', and the ability of this very simple form to work with that aesthetic. Some judicious application of quality cladding materials, and better windows and landscaping, have transformed many of these ugly ducklings into homes that are now seen as attractive by many. A video on some of the best transformations would be fun to see.

The answer to the "too many and too bland" problem is so blindingly simple that it actually has me fear for society since it's not being talked about (not even by Uytae) ...Have more the one "Special"... that's it. Let the builder/homeowner choose which model of "Special" to go with that meets their needs.

you have to do a a "part 2". Punjabi people from Vancouver's Eastside near Ross street moved to Surrey in late 1980s. The doubled the size of the Vancouver Special and it became the Surrey Mega House. if you look close enough you can see the Vancouver Special in the design. Tons of great examples of this behind the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Surrey

Such a racket, go to southeast Asia and build one for 1/10 tenth of the price! better weather too!

I think it's time to make it more appealing for potential buyers. Real estate can be quite the rollercoaster! the stress and uncertainty are getting to me. I think I'll cut rents to attract potential buyers and exit the market, but i'm at crossroads if to allocate the entire $680k liquidity value to my stock portfolio?

So well produced! I’m definitely keen for a new Vancouver special!

It's off to a slow start but single-family zoning is dying in North America. California's SB 9 legislation means the 'typical' single-family lot is now allowed to become a four-plex. I'm not sure that quadrupling the number of dwelling in a previously single-family home lot is the best plan but it's reality.

As always, excellent work Uytae.

Vancouver specials go for $1.5-$2 million depending on location so no, they do not offer any solution to the housing crisis.

Do you know which building type is very beloved today but was hated when it was built all around a city? Well, the Vancouver Special is, but that's already talked about. I mean one that long since became an absolute staple of good American urbanism and character? The answer, is the New York brownstones. In "The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn" by Suleiman and Osman, when the brownstones were built, they were dismissed as "products of the mechanical age, modern and artificial, poorly built and subject to decay, with a dehumanizing monotony". The Vancouver Special was a victim of the same complaints (I'm not too sure about the "poorly built and subject to decay part...) and it looks like people are now starting to accept them... just like New Yorkers eventually accepted the brownstone. Tastes in people change, and it is time that tells whether new neighborhoods or refurbished ones end up with a character or not.

a really good way to help the housing crisis is prevent foreign entities from buying your properties. They sit empty because foreigners don't live in them only as investments or store their wealth.

Babe, Uytae just posted another housing video!

4000 dollars a month for a 3 bed 2 bath 1/4 of a home is not an answer to the housing solution, it's a way for landowners to improve their profits. The solution is rental caps and housing built for the low-income workers that provide services to the rich landowners. At 4000 a month I have to have 4 roommates. 5 people in order to afford continuing to live in this extremely wealthy city.

people love to dictate the looks of the housing of others. from utter outrage and incensed anger at homeless people for daring to put up a tent on public property, to downright petty complaints and protests whenever a simple, standardized design becomes popular. this has always, and will always happen, and we, as urban planners and urbanism advocates, must push against it every single time it happens and remind people it's a part of new change they just have to get used to. people thought the Victorian houses of San Francisco were ugly, bland and overbuilt just a hundred years ago. people thought the brownstones in NYC were terrible, visually uninspiring and some even protested against it. now, people do the same to 5-over-1 mixed use apartments, Kelowna quadplexes, and anything that doesn't fit the sterile, same but not too same view of suburbia these people are used to. we don't have to bend to their will, we can and should fight tooth and nail for these buildings to be built, as if we don't, we're left with nothing but suburban McMansions, and that's not a world i think most of us want to live in.

7:15 the people that complain about the new builds or the "Vancouver special" are current home owners who don't like change. First time home buyers don't care, they just want a place to live. it's two different ideas come from two different people. We don't all want the same thing

Canada - " We have to bring in millions of immigrants!" Also Canada - " Why are our wages so low and we don't have anywhere to live!?"

Another great video Lee! I well remember participating in the distaste for the Vancouver Special. People like a good pile-on, don't they? And then later they realize their critique was one-sided, and really just another instance of mob mentality.

Greedy Businessman will never allow affordable housing

the LA "DINGBAT" apartments are a older example that is "world famous" and started out as "cheap" apartments and grew to be "hated" and now "loved" for the same reasons the Kelowna example I assume "died" due to "NIMBY'insm" and people wanting NO NEW HOUSING as it reduces the VALUE of there home

The whole problem with this though, is that cities still have authoritarian zoning codes that basically ban building housing for poor people.

This is quality CBC content, nice to see for a change.

Good to see Uytae back at talking about housing and urban planning in the Vancouver. building more of the “missing middle” fast and affordable can be a good thing for Vancouver

As Ukrainian immigrant I’d rather spent my childhood in Vancouver Special than in depressed Brezhnevka building with fackud up balconies, small rooms and ugly facades. Appreciate what you have.

been waiting decades for someone to formally storytell this 😊

There's a lot of brand new townhouses being built in Calgary. Problem is they are still priced like a single house. Less land area same expensive price.

omg just build standardized 10-storey concrete mid-rise condos, problem solved. NIMBYs are gonna hate on everything anyway, so why not push for the most effective solution from the beginning instead of reinventing the wheel.

Definitely need more Kelowna specials

This kid is the best at explaining so much in our city and how it was shaped

Of course, the Vancouver formula: sleazy developers shirking building codes to appeal to foreigners. Sounds about Vancouver.

This journalist is a brilliant presenter. I don't watch TV and have never seen him before. Super informative, easy to understand, excellent graphics.

I want a 1200sq feet house like my grand parents had. Houses now are wayyyyy too big!!!!!

People want affordable housing but hates the design because is "bland". This gota be the most first world problem I ever heard.

Basically what he's saying is what everyone already knew ... bureaucracy, red tape, NIMBY, car-centric zoning laws ... these are the things that have DESTROYED housing affordability in Canada. If you own a house, you watch "inflation" (in quotes because housing inflation is separate from other kinds) make you well off. You have a vested interest in keeping the less-affluent out of houses to artificially keep the prices high. Yup, me too ... I have made a LOT of money out of the houses I have owned as has everyone else in my social strata. Doesn't make it right, and I am cursed with enough economic understanding and self awareness to know that I am definitely a contributor to the homeless crisis. As is each and every "weekend squire" living their "Pleasant Valley Sunday" dream (very old Monkees song). Is it fixable? Yes. Does that "fix" have to make your life noticeably worse? NO. Will it be fixed? Hahahaha ... not so long as the conservatives have anything to say about it (the party of selfishness). So no, probably never. Oh, and don't pick on the zoning guys .... it's a democracy, they are doing what WE asked them too. Fix the laws, clearly communicate what we as a society want from our zoning and building bylaws and I am pretty sure they will be happy to enforce the new rules. The elected officials ... same thing, if WE as a society want a better life, elect people who will work towards that.

Look at Tokyo. No architecture whatsoever, all they care about is efficiency and functionality.

Build baby build. I don't care what they put up. But if the government is going to ship in 500,000 people per year to look after old people as the Boomers retire, then at least build them homes. Canada should be building 500,000 homes per year, just to clear up the 3.5 million home deficit we are currently in, then build homes in line with population growth. Or encourage more marriages. Because Gen Z has so many singles, most people are not cohabitating. Only 37.5% of Canadians are married (for some reason, America has 49% marriage rate.. why is Canada so against marriage?). If more people stopped living alone, that would also free up housing.

NIMBYs ruin everything. Just paint them differently with some great colours like in the eastern maritimes, and you can have a great looking street. I agree! A new Special is needed now.

Ease the building rezoning limits, and speed up the permitting. High housing cost is all about supply & demand, not just blaming immigrants while doing nothing to solve it... Come on politicians, do your job, & stop bullying immigrants on everything just because they can't vote...

What would you tear down in order to build this new form? How would this be feasible and how would it actually house "more" people - in Vancouver? There are some jurisdictions where this would be an improvement, but it isn't for the "missing middle" of the market. If you look around the GTA, the idea of building large numbers of homes that repeat their design has been taking place for 30 years.

Tear down a $1.6mil 5/6 bed 4 bath 50+ year old vancouver special with a 30'/33' wide lot, build a duplex, and you'll probably end up with two duplexes each having a 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom selling for $1.9mil each (combined total of $3.8million). tearing them all down, combining the land, and building row houses does the same thing (plenty of examples on the king edward ave corridor). Another thing is plenty of strata units are selling below assessed price and below asking price in the current market. So by preserving the Vancouver Special and extending the service life of the structure is the affordable way to go. If you want a quadplex or buildings with lots of units, the west side has plenty of much lots with larger footprints suitable for it.

All the tents on Hastings start looking the same after awhile too!

I don’t understand what problem we are trying to solve. What is the “Housing Crisis”? Is it a supply & demand problem? Where is the demand coming from? Birth rates are at an all time low. Is it intentional demand?

The Kelowna Quad is so cute! Would be great for Vancouver to allow the purchase of neighbouring Vancouver Specials to be turned into the mutual-driveway developments that are so popular in the States. If we abandoned the super antiquated alley style and instead used that as buildable land, we'd be able to get even more units in the same amount of land.

I know it is not a popular option. I am a hypocrite. I also don’t like changing zoning. Some of the homes that are put up are aweful and way to close together. Some cities do mixed use zoing for all communities. Ie you must have so much duplex, condo, affordable housing and townhouse. Spreads the love and the whole city becomes heathy. Don’t fall into the pitfalls of the states. Make poor areas the best that they can be and allow some mixed use. No matter how rich, every community can have a little affordable housing.

Lmao instead of addressing the core issue that limits architectural freedom in Vancouver and Canada which is our zoning bylaws, they go ahead and ban this cheap affordable housing type. These "critics" should go and visit Japan that has one national "sane" zoning law and see how much housing and architectural freedom you get when your not imposing your own view of what a city's houses are supposed to look like. True insanity.