Laneway housing pilot project for seniors touted by Calgary councillor

A new tiny,tech-savvykind of seniors' housing could be coming to Calgary.

The400-square-footlanewayhomes are meant tohelpseniors age in their communities by incorporating built-inmedicaltechnology, such as heart rate monitors and dialysis machines.

The project was designed by local university students and will be presented tocity councilMonday.

"The house isbeing designed the same way that you'd design a wheelchair or any other medical apparatus," saidWard 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra, who is proposing the idea.

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Because it's fullycustomizable, Carra said the possibilities are endless.

"And the dream, for the deep future,is that your doctor writes you a prescription for it," he said.

Just 'drop' it inyour yard

University of Calgary environmental designstudents have been working withresearchersfrom the faculty of medicine to develop a prototype.

Carra said the module is designed to "drop"into the backyard of your "typical"Calgary lot, like Acadia or Fairview.

"They can crane it over a two-story house, 150feet back,and drop it against a back property line if you don't have a lane. They can put itagainst the lane next to a garage."

Carra foresees several scenarios where this type of housingwould work:

• Where a senior can no longer live independently in their home. "You move into your backyard and maybe your house becomes a source of rental income for you," said Carra
• Instead of putting their parents in a home, adult children put laneway homes in their own yards.
• Adult children move into their parents' home and their parents move into a laneway house on the same property so that the "family is all together, and yet separate," said Carra.

Carra saidit's too early to sayhow much such alaneway homewould cost.

"We do know it's a lot cheaper to prevent than it is to react. It's a lot more expensive to put people into the hospital and then to find them extended care. These are major drags on the system."

Carrawouldlike the city to set up and test a couple of the mini homes. Willing seniors andcommunities would be needed for a pilot.

"Understanding what kind of seniors and what stages of life would be the most beneficial to collecting data, and then finding those seniors, I believe, connected to a community that's willing to be part of that as well," he said.

Carrawill table a motion Mondayasking the city to look into the idea.If council approves, he wants a study completed by fall, and the project to move ahead next year.

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