Twelfth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Informality refers to human practices and activities that are largely unregulated and unbound by civil laws and regulation and, to an extent, acceptable social conduct as shaped by society. Much research exists regarding informality in the urban environments of cities in Global South, but the same cannot be said for the Global North. This research project explores the manifestations of informality that exist through secondary suites in Calgary, Canada. Calgary currently has 961 legal secondary suites, and an estimated 16,000 unauthorized secondary suites. A recent study showed that 25% of recent immigrant households in Calgary spent more than 30% of their income on housing and we speculate that this percentage has increased since then. Secondary suites are more affordable on average and therefore more accessible to lower-income populations. Relating to the theme of social impact, we have found that there is a positive correlation between neighbourhoods with the highest percentage of immigrants and the number of parcels within that have unauthorized secondary suites. Because secondary suites have a poor reputation in many areas of the city since such suites are believed to be more occupied by lower-income and more transient individuals, we are interested in exploring how social cohesion and community spirit is different within communities with more immigrants as opposed to those with less.