Density is one of those words that can make a housing conversation uncomfortable very quickly.
For some people, it immediately brings up images of enormous towers and crowded streets.
For others, density is treated as the obvious answer to the housing crisis.
I think there is a more useful way to have the conversation.
Instead of asking whether density is good or bad, ask whether we are using our land intelligently.
That was one of the themes that came out of my conversation with Bruce Firestone about real estate development in Canada.
Bruce has decades of experience as an entrepreneur and developer. We talked about mixed-use communities, basement suites, zoning and some of the practical changes that could help us create more housing.
The interesting part is that smarter density does not always need to look dramatic.
Sometimes it can be as simple as putting another home in the basement.
Start with what we’re already building
Bruce is a believer in what he calls real estate animation.
The basic idea is to make property do more.
A basement suite is an easy example.
If a new home already needs a basement, why not consider designing it so that it can also function as a separate apartment?
With suitable access, that basement could potentially become a two- or three-bedroom home.
You have not added another parcel of land.
You have not created another street.
But you have potentially created another place for people to live.
That is density in a very practical form.
It can also support families
Secondary suites are not only about traditional landlord and tenant relationships.
They can help create multigenerational homes.
Grandparents might live in the suite.
An adult child could move back home while maintaining some independence.
Or the homeowner could rent it to another household and use the income to help pay the mortgage.
One building becomes more flexible.
When we’re facing a housing crisis, flexibility matters.
Mixed-use communities can do the same thing at a larger scale
The principle extends beyond individual homes.
Bruce and I also discussed mixed-use development.
Communities work differently when housing, services and other uses can exist together.
Again, the point is not simply squeezing as many units as possible onto every property.
Good density should still create places people want to live.
But we should question whether older patterns of development always make the best use of valuable land.
If housing is scarce, every property deserves a thoughtful question:
Could this land do more?
Zoning has an enormous influence
Of course, developers cannot simply decide to build whatever they want.
Zoning determines what can be built and where.
That means zoning becomes part of the housing crisis conversation.
Rules created for one period in a city’s history may not necessarily match what that city needs decades later.
Communities change.
Families change.
Housing needs change.
Our approach to land use needs enough flexibility to recognise that.
Creativity is part of development
Bruce made a point during our conversation that I think applies perfectly here.
Entrepreneurs become creative when they are backed into a corner.
Canada’s housing situation is certainly giving us a reason to become creative.
We can complain about limited land.
Or we can ask whether the land we already use could accommodate more housing.
We can assume a house should always contain one household.
Or we can design it so that it has options.
We can separate every use into different parts of a community.
Or we can look at thoughtful mixed-use development.
These are choices.
Michael Ruge believes practical ideas add up
The housing crisis is large enough that no single idea will solve it.
That is precisely why we should stop dismissing smaller solutions simply because they are not complete solutions.
A basement apartment matters to the person living in it.
A multigenerational home matters to the family using it.
A well-designed mixed-use project matters to the people who call that community home.
Multiply practical ideas across thousands of properties and the picture starts to change.
That is where I believe developers can contribute.
We can keep asking better questions about land.
We can work with municipalities.
We can challenge assumptions about how housing has traditionally been designed.
And we can build places that make better use of the space available.
Solving Canada’s housing crisis is going to require more homes.
But it is also going to require us to become much smarter about where and how we create them.
That is a challenge worth taking on.
Michael Ruge’s new book “Building Hope in the Housing – How to Solve the Rental Affordability Crisis” will be realeased this fall (2026).
Links to Michael Ruge, Affordable Apartments and his Initiatives:
Funding Real Estate Projects with Michael Ruge’s Passive Income Model
Why Michael Ruge Avoids Banks for His Real Estate Projects
Michael Ruge- A Visionary Real Estate Developer Solving the Housing Crisis in the Cowichan Valley
Michael Ruge: Why Community-Driven Affordable Housing Is the Future
