Sam Stewart

Revitalizing Rural Communities by Providing Affordable Housing and Increasing Liveability

As people migrate to large urban centers smaller towns are left with fewer people and resources. My thesis is an approach to reduce the impacts of rural decline by purposing a new strategy for building in rural communities that will increase the livability of the town by creating infrastructure for services combined with alternate housing options. My intention is to use architectural design to provide more housing options in rural areas making them a viable option for people looking for affordable housing outside of city centers. Rural decline is a multifaceted issue and housing alone will not be enough to revitalize a community but architecturally housing is the first step. For a rural community to grow people first must be able to live in the community. I chose to study the prairie town of Stettler Alberta, as my example of a rural community that could both support and benefit from a new mixed use building typology. Large distances and a lack of public transit create a sense of isolation and a barrier to living in rural areas. To strengthen the livability of housing in a rural community I focused on understanding the how the rural community of Stettler was organized and focused on the proximity of housing to the downtown core, prioritizing close access to local business and services. The areas around rural main streets often have abandoned buildings or underdeveloped lots; providing a mixed-use building that could act as an infill would provide space for needed services or local business and create an affordable living close to the downtown area. Providing compact housing units in a rural community also increases accessibility of smaller units for people that do not require a full detached house, which is the predominate option in rural communities. The commercial space of my building will be based on providing services that community of Stettler requires, such as retail and community spaces. Interconnected with this commercial space will be housing units. The affordable housing part of my design will address the local need for smaller unit housing and act as a pilot for projects in other rural towns trying to retain or attract new populations. Producing smaller housing units instead of single detached homes will increase access to cheaper appropriately size options for housing. The buildings design will focus on using cost effective construction techniques such as prefabrication, conventional construction assembly, sourcing local materials and salvage where possible to offset building costs and integrate the building into the existing town fabric.