The overwhelming majority of GTA residents believe that more homes can still be built without compromising the environment.

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New public opinion research has shown that 82% of GTA residents believe that it is possible to increase the pace for housing development while protecting our environment. Experts warn that building strategy is crucial.

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Ipsos conducted the poll on behalf of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and surveyed 1,000 residents in the GTA about housing and environmental protection. Nearly unanimous agreement (92%) was reached that the GTA is facing a housing affordability crisis. 84% agreed that there is a shortage of housing.

Eighty-one percent agreed that it was important to balance the need for more housing construction with environmental protection.

Dave Wilkes, CEO of BILD, stated that the research shows that people support the idea that growth can be balanced with environmental protection.

He stated that by acting now, one can leave a legacy that will meet the needs of a growing number of people and preserve our collective quality life.

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According to the poll, 71% of respondents supported building more roads and highways (78%), and 35% believed that new housing developments were bad for the environment.

Wilkes states that these data show that opposition to new developments like roads and housing communities is a minority. The silent majority however recognizes that you can build new communities while protecting the environment.

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Shoshanna Saxe is a professor at University of Toronto and a sustainable infrastructure researcher. She says that increased development within the municipal boundaries can have serious negative effects on the environment.

She claims that outward expansion would threaten natural forest and farmland, increase infrastructure costs to provide services to those further away from the urban core, and leave people with little choice but to drive, which is also the most polluting method of getting around.

Saxe is related to Dianne Saxe, a Green Party candidate. She believes it is possible to increase development speed while protecting the environment. However, she insists that urban expansion is not the best solution. Instead, increasing density and building within the existing housing footprint is the solution. This could mean retrofitting buildings to accommodate more people or building homes in urban core empty spaces.

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It is difficult to increase density in urban centers because of strict zoning regulations that can make it difficult to build in existing urban neighborhoods.

Wilkes said, “We have an urban system that reflects the 1960s- and 1970s needs.” We need a revolution in the way we use land. We need speedy approvals. We need density.

The challenge is also presented by opposition from current residents. Survey results indicated that 55% of respondents would not support a condo or high rise apartment building located less than 500m from their homes. Just 47% would oppose a midrise apartment or condo located at the same location as their homes. This is just a fraction of the respondents.

Saxe says that increasing density does not mean building skyscrapers. It also includes more low-rise multi-unit buildings, triplexes and quadplexes, as well as sixplexes or eightplexes. You can also build in the spaces in between. Allow for taller buildings, and more on avenues. Coordinate our public transit development with our housing development.

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It is all that we know how. Saxe stated that we just need to do it. We are just starting. We just need to do more.

The poll was conducted online by the Ipsos I-Say panel and surveyed 1,000 residents in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). It took place between March 11 and 18, 2022. Weighting and quotas were used to ensure that the samples composition was consistent with the Ontario population as per census data. A credibility interval is used to measure the precision of online polls. In this instance, the results are accurate to +/– 3.5 percentage points, 19-times in 20, compared to what would have been if all GTA residents were surveyed.