Housing in Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) does not currently meet the needs of all members across the 49 NAN communities. The ubiquity of three and four-bedroom detached houses on-reserve has particularly marginalized single adults, those in need of emergency housing, and those in need of housing with supports. These challenges are compounded by significant barriers to accessing alternative housing designs and building plans on-reserve in NAN.

In response to recommendations emerging from the NAN Housing Strategy, NAN partnered with TDL in 2020 to launch Community Led Designs for Specialized Housing in the North (CLDSHN). The project aimed to bring together community members in NAN with lived experience and architects with technical experience to develop shovel-ready housing plans and community building designs for those in greatest need. 

Through CLDSHN, a series of co-creation workshops were hosted to engage NAN members with diverse housing experiences in the development of housing designs. 

Guided by curiosity, the project began by asking: 

How do we define the specific housing needs of the identified priority populations? How might NAN members with diverse housing experiences be engaged in the design of housing that best meets their needs? 

Who was involved?

The project involved engaging with over 50 members of NAN representing communities with diverse housing experiences, geographies, climates, and needs. Community housing professionals, architects (LGA Architectural Partners, L’OEUF Architectes, TDL), technical experts, and other leaders in NAN were also engaged throughout the project.

What was TDL’s role?

TDL was responsible for bringing together community members and local technical professionals in collaboration with architects to co-create housing designs. By facilitating co-creation workshops and other engagement sessions, the TDL team sought to center the lived experiences of NAN community members in design discussions. 

What types of engagement occurred?

Preliminary Engagement 

Between 2021 and 2022, the TDL team hosted virtual engagement sessions with community members in NAN with lived experience and technical experts. The discussions focused on identifying NAN’s priorities for housing designs to guide the future direction of the project. 

Design-Focused Engagement 

In 2022, TDL launched a second round of focused engagement, hosting a series of virtual open houses to connect with NAN community members. The open houses led to the formation of several co-creation teams made up of 52 participants representing 17 First Nations and 3 Tribal Councils in NAN. Each co-creation team was composed of housing experts and community members with lived experience in NAN specific to the group for which the housing was being designed: single adults, individuals in need of emergency housing, and individuals in need of housing with supports. 

In 2023, the co-creation teams met routinely both virtually and in-person to provide feedback on housing models and plans, and to receive project updates to share back with their respective communities. TDL worked with NAN to host three collaborative in-person co-creation sessions in Thunder Bay and Timmins to co-develop design briefs and provide feedback on housing design. Co-creation sessions helped to refine housing designs which were shared for further feedback in 2024 with housing managers in NAN and Tribal Councils. 

What was learned?

Co-creation spaces can foster valuable opportunities for mutual learning.

Inviting community members from NAN, technical professionals, and architects into a shared space of co-creation provided valuable opportunities for shared learning among participants, where architects learned from the lived experience of NAN members and the unique social, geographic, and climate contexts of their communities. In return, NAN members learned more about the housing design and creation process. The project demonstrated the importance of valuing lived experience alongside technical experience to create spaces where all participant perspectives and experiences are valued, and where mutual learning is encouraged.

Hosting longitudinal workshops can strengthen mutual learning and trust.

Co-creation teams met routinely over several months to provide feedback on housing designs, allowing participants the time required to build strong relationships founded in mutual trust. Relationship building allowed participants to learn from each other in informal ways, gaining for example, a greater understanding of territorial differences across NAN communities. Some participants shared that the process had helped them gain a greater understanding of the complexity of changemaking processes, especially with respect to housing.