Sotomayor, LuisaPopal, Aria2021-06-162021-06-162020Major Paper, Master of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York Universityhttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/38331The City of Toronto is experiencing a well-known housing affordability crisis. As the fastest growing city in North America with the highest construction activity, expensive condominium developments in the City’s designated areas for growth, such as the downtown core, are dominating the housing market as the leading type of supply. On the other hand, Toronto prides itself upon being a city of neighbourhoods, by alluding to the other form of supply in the city as single-family homes or single detached dwellings. To contend with the convolutions of the housing market, a discourse of the Missing Middle emerged in the 2010s as a new angle from which to examine the housing affordability crisis in North American cities. The Missing Middle is a multifaceted term that generally refers to a need for more housing typologies that are in scale with single-family homes but are limited to four units in height; to be added as gentle or medium density to designated single-family neighbourhoods. I assess the Missing Middle as an approach, a strategy, and a discourse to moderate the housing crisis. By conducting interviews with interested city-builders, community members and vocal advocates for the development of Missing Middle housing in Toronto, this paper presents different views and perspectives on the limits and opportunities that such approach may provide. My findings indicate that the Missing Middle offers an opportunity to diversify the housing stock by adding housing supply options to the market ranging in size, tenure and income. I dispel promises of affordability by situating a literature review from the inception of initial housing policy in Ontario, to the patterns we see today, as moving beyond market forces, and more so as a consequence of the policies adopted over the past three decades. I leave the reader with prospects of considering the Missing Middle through the examination of a neighbourhood case study that can serve as a guide for the City of Toronto’s Missing Middle pilot study initiated in 2019. To expand the perspective beyond a sole solution, I also propose a number of structural changes to the planning system vis-à-vis the housing crisis that will be needed to fill in the housing gaps.enAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.Built EnvironmentHealthHealthy CitiesUrban PlanningMajor paper