1st Edition

Effective Urban Densification A Guide for Professionals and the Housing Industry

By Barry Johns Copyright 2025
258 Pages 154 Color Illustrations
by Routledge

258 Pages 154 Color Illustrations
by Routledge

258 Pages 154 Color Illustrations
by Routledge

The housing crisis confronts two of North America’s contemporary urban challenges: affordability and the need to curtail urban sprawl through densification of existing communities. Advancing a novel formula labelled BAAKFIL, this book introduces a new way of thinking about affordability and revitalization of mature neighbourhoods and communities. Beginning with an exploration of the monoculture... Read more

1. Introduction  2. The Problem  3. BAAKFIL  4. BAAKFIL Business Model  5. BAAKFIL Design Tool-kit  6. Demonstration Projects  7. Conclusion  Author's Notes and Index

Biography

Barry Johns is a Canadian Architect who began his career with Arthur Erickson in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is a former Chancellor of the College of Fellows, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. His award-winning design practice in Edmonton, Alberta was founded in 1981.

"This book offers valuable ideas and practices to support contemporary residential sustainable planning challenges: affordability and lowering carbon footprint. Barry’s vast professional experience is instrumental in translating theories into practice. It is an excellent tool for rethinking suburban communities and inner city neighbourhoods."

Avi Friedman, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

"Finally, a contribution to the Discipline of Design that offers a specific, scalable model for urban densification.  Barry Johns shares with us his deep understanding of the socio-economics of affordable housing and offers a clear path toward multigenerational adaptability and organic community growth."

Brenda Webster Tweel, Stantec, Toronto, Canada

"BAAKFIL offers a practical and beautiful architectural blueprint. The business model offers an innovative approach to affordability throughout urban and suburban communities. Barry Johns contributes a fresh, hopeful missing middle pathway – a much needed solution to our housing affordability crisis."

Cherise Burda, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada

"It is a relief to read a book containing genuine fresh thinking on housing—just what the Canadian housing sector desperately needs right now. In Effective Urban Densification: A Guide for Professionals and the Housing Industry, Alberta architect Barry Johns models for one form of new housing—infill—the kind of analysis and new directions that we would do well to undertake to address the delivery of all forms of housing in our country. This is a must-read for developers and architects, but it may be even more eye-opening for homeowners holding a lot of equity, government officials and planners sponsoring new zoning, and neighbours who fret about the loss of their lovely communities."

Larry Beasley, former chief planner for the City of Vancouver, Canada - review for Canadian Architect