Halal Housing Lab: Halal Financing

April 9, 2023 in Community, Halal Housing Lab, Housing, Justice

This is the fourth episode of the Halal Housing Lab podcast series, exploring how we might finance an affordable housing project for multigenerational Muslim families in Edmonton, Alberta, while being respectful of the financial values of Islamic culture. The Halal Housing Lab is a collaborative project between our partners at Islamic Family, Another Way, SAS Architecture, Ask for a Better World, and Intelligent Futures, funded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Over the course of the past several months, we’ve begun working to find new and innovative housing solutions that not only accommodate the needs of multigenerational Muslim families, but can improve the housing market for everyone in Canada.

Conventional financing models keeps many Muslims, as well as service organizations like Islamic Family, out of the affordable housing market. A central component to the Halal Housing Lab has been to identify how different models of affordable housing financing can be leveraged to support diverse world views, while working within the larger Canadian housing system. Financing is a critical component to the success of any housing development, and when the idea of money is inherent to cultural values that differ from the North American norm, it compounds the difficulty of addressing the growing shortage of affordable housing in Canadian cities. While challenging, learning from Islamic values towards money through the concept of Halal financing, has the potential to create more equitable and transparent financial systems for all.

If you know of any non-traditional affordable housing models that you think might be relevant to the exploration of Halal Housing, drop us a note at hello@360degree.city. We would love to hear about them!

Resources

Community Investment Co-operatives: https://bcca.coop/community-investment-co-ops-a-growing-co-operative-sector-in-bc/

Islamic Family podcast on Zakat: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ifssa-islamic-family-social-services-association/id1448826236

McCauley Development Cooperative: https://socialenterprisefund.ca/client/mccauley-development-cooperative/

Towards an Equitable Recovery

June 22, 2020 in Community, Justice

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the deep cracks in our systems. Experts are concerned that food insecurity in Canada may double from the pre-pandemic numbers. Long-term care facilities—which have been brutally hit by COVID– are underfunded and under-staffed. And the virus is disproportionately impacting communities of colour. However, without the collection of race-based data, it’s hard to truly determine this impact.

But as our systems crumble and shift, there is opportunity to recover stronger than ever, with a much-needed societal focus on equity and social justice. 

John chats with Zahra Ebrahim, who has placed equity at the core of their work for years and is recently working towards an equitable recovery from COVID-19. 

Resources

Towards the Just City

June 12, 2020 in Justice

Sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, protests have been occurring around the world for the last number of weeks. And as today’s guest recently wrote, “current interest in anti-black racism is unprecedented.” Amongst all this frustration, pain and grief being expressed right now is also an incredible opportunity to listen and rethink life in our communities.

Today’s guest is Kofi Hope, a community leader in Toronto, who has been working towards a more just city for years.

Resources

Further Reading

Cover photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash