New Urban Challenges Require Creative Solutions

In an era of scarcity, we need to call upon visionaries to provide effective and low-cost responses to problems such as homelessness, poverty, ill health and environmental degradation, writes Sonja Persram. Martin Liefhebber, principal architect of Breathe Architects and an innovator in the practice of sustainable building design, believes that solutions to urban problems must respond to the needs of a changing population. Amongst his prescriptions: introduce mixed-use zoning to permit more people to work from home, change zoning laws to permit more housing units on each property and also along laneways, change building codes to recognize alternative technologies, and redesign residential streets and sewage systems to be more friendly to people and the environment.