Smart Density Advocate Naama Blonder Expands Smart City Concept in North America
In the heart of Toronto, architect Naama Blonder and her firm, Smart Density, are pioneering a new approach to sustainable and affordable urban housing. By combining people-focused urban development with policy advocacy, they are creating cost-effective, human-scale, and adaptable neighborhoods that foster long-term community growth and equity.
Naama Blonder, co-founder of Smart Density, has a passion for housing affordability that was sparked when she realised "way more people need housing than libraries." Her mission is to extend difficult conversations with Toronto communities to change the stigma around multi-family units and promote living close to amenities and public transit as a family-friendly way of life.
Smart Density's innovative concept of "smart density" is gaining recognition. They have been awarded the Ontario Association of Architects' SHIFT Infrastructure 2019 Award for their proposed 108 km long cycling network, designed to improve existing bike lanes and connect cyclists in Toronto's outskirts to the city centre.
One of their notable projects is the development of a report as part of the Toronto Housing Now initiative. This plan provides a vision for maximising affordable housing options at Kennedy Station in Toronto, including 809 new housing units located at a site that was previously a parking lot.
Naama's advice for those interested in architecture is to get involved and be curious. She believes that housing is the core essence of cities, capturing aspects like transit and sustainability, and argues that surface parking in cities like Toronto should not exist. She lives in a tall building in the city centre and believes that family-friendly living is not best suited to the suburbs.
Smart Density focuses on smart and affordable urban planning, and re-educating the North American multi-family housing market. They advocate for pedestrian-friendly front-access parking instead of laneways and rear garages, and favour smaller distributed parks over large civic greens to reduce land and servicing costs while maintaining community value.
Naama's work has been recognised with awards for leadership in sustainability, equity, and innovation, highlighting her contributions to affordable and environmentally responsible housing development in Toronto. She aspires for her business to grow and have projects all over the world, promoting the idea of smart density.
For those interested in learning more about Toronto's city-building innovators, Naama has developed a series profiling several of them, which can be checked out here. By working together, we can create more equitable, sustainable, and affordable urban environments for all.
[1] Smart Density's Award-Winning Work: https://www.smartdensity.ca/awards [4] Smart Density's Urban Design Strategies: https://www.smartdensity.ca/urban-design
Investing in real-estate, Smart Density had been awarded the Ontario Association of Architects' SHIFT Infrastructure 2019 Award for their proposed cycling network. Through finance and innovative urban planning, they are working to create more affordable housing options in areas like Kennedy Station in Toronto.
Naama Blonder, co-founder of Smart Density, is advocating for investing in multi-family units and promoting living close to amenities and public transit as a family-friendly way of life, to achieve sustainable and equitable urban growth.
