Excellence in housing research earns national recognition
Dr. Dawn Parker, a professor in the School of Planning, and the Urban Growth and Change Research Group have received CMHC’s Gold Roof Award for Housing
Research Excellence. Their work provides critical insight into housing supply and affordability challenges during Canada’s ongoing housing crisis.
Over the past 15 years, their research has examined missing middle housing gaps in Waterloo Region, offering a clearer picture of Canadians’ diverse housing needs and highlighting social, environmental, and economic sustainability issues affecting those most in need.
The team is also developing open‑source tools to evaluate the financial feasibility of missing middle housing and to analyze how zoning and new housing types influence land and housing markets. Their work sheds light on:
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Land‑value uplift associated with the ION light rail transit.
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How demographics influence housing preferences and market dynamics.
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Where markets have failed to deliver suitable, transit‑oriented housing.
Dr. Parker credits municipal and industry partners, as well as the Missing Middle Working Group, for helping make this research possible. The group continues to translate research into practice by training specialists, publishing peer‑reviewed work, and engaging with industry and media.
She notes that receiving the award is a significant honour and looks forward to continued collaboration with CMHC to advance sustainable housing across Canada.
The full story, Excellence in housing research earns national recognition, appears on the Faculty of Environment's website.