How Ratio.City is Revolutionizing Housing Development Across Canada

We proudly announce our selection as semifinalists in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Supply Challenge, Round Five: Level Up. This recognition brings us resources allowing us to scale our innovative platform nationwide and address Canada's housing crisis. Our journey, starting with Round 2 funding and continuing with this new opportunity, highlights our commitment to transforming housing development through data-driven collaboration.

Reflecting on CMHC Round 2

Our work began with the CMHC Round 2, which supported our efforts from fall 2022 to March 2024. This step was pivotal in helping us develop tools to increase the housing supply in Toronto. We created several key deliverables, including site identification tools, a housing inventory dashboard, pre-application collaboration tools, and project monitoring features. These tools were designed to streamline the development application process by connecting municipal staff and housing developers through shared data and analysis.

The feedback from Ontario-based housing developers and municipal staff was overwhelmingly positive. They appreciated how our tools facilitated communication and expedited development processes. This successful implementation demonstrated the potential of our platform to transform housing development, not just in Toronto but across Canada.

The Ratio.City Solution

One of the main challenges in housing development is the misalignment between the objectives of municipal planners and housing developers.

Developers often focus on maximizing land use and minimizing risk, while municipal staff prioritize community planning policies. This disparity can lead to miscommunication and delays. We address this by providing a shared data and analysis environment that supports faster, more informed decision-making.

Our web-based collaboration tools reduce the uncertainty around development timelines, which minimizes land-carrying costs and early-stage risks for developers. By aligning the objectives of developers and municipal staff, we create a more harmonious and efficient planning process.

Why Our Tool is a Game Changer

Ratio.City’s platform is a game changer in the housing development sector. It allows for strategic site identification, economic feasibility evaluations, and collaborative planning. Developers can identify potential sites and assess their feasibility more accurately, while municipal staff can ensure that these developments align with community planning policies.

Using data as a common language, our platform expedites housing approval processes and reduces risk. This collaborative approach meets the housing mandates of municipalities and helps build stronger, more sustainable communities.

Future Updates

Our success in Ontario has laid a strong foundation for national expansion. With the new funding from CMHC Round 5, we aim to scale our operations to urban areas across Canada. This involves automating more data collection and maintenance processes to ensure that our platform remains comprehensive and up-to-date.

Our goal is to demonstrate the benefits of our collaborative approach to municipalities and housing developers nationwide. By providing them with the tools to work together more effectively, we can significantly increase the housing supply across Canada.

Enhancing Housing Supply

We address two critical needs in housing development: reducing risk for developers and speeding up pre-application processes for municipalities. Our easy-to-use format provides comprehensive planning data, helping both parties make better-informed decisions.

Key features of our platform include the ability to identify development opportunities, understand built forms about land use policies, and analyze development potential through 3D modeling. These features are especially beneficial for urban infill and mid- to high-rise buildings, helping to maximize the use of underutilized sites.

Discover how we are helping Municipalities.

Improving Existing Practices

Our platform significantly improves existing housing development practices. By providing access to shared data and collaboration tools, we reduce delays in the application process and minimize risks for developers. This streamlined approach saves time and resources for both municipal staff and housing developers.

Currently, housing developers spend considerable time gathering data from various sources before submitting development applications. Missing information can lead to incomplete applications, causing delays and higher costs. Ratio.City simplifies this process by providing all necessary data in one place, resulting in faster and more accurate application submissions.

Addressing Current Demand

Canada’s housing crisis demands innovative solutions. Extended approval timelines and overworked municipal planning departments have created a bottleneck in housing development. Ratio.City addresses these issues by streamlining approval processes and improving access to data, ultimately increasing the number of approved housing units.

Time Savings with Ratio.City

Our platform offers significant time savings for both municipal staff and housing developers. Municipal staff can save up to five hours per Pre-Application Consultation (PAC), while developers can save six to nine hours per site evaluation.

Some of our users are saving more than 50% of their time, mostly on pre-application processes which gives them more time to focus on what matters the most.

These time savings translate into hundreds of hours saved annually, allowing more housing projects to move forward efficiently.

Scaling for the Future

In the next 12 months, our primary focus will be on overcoming the barrier of data availability. We plan to collect more data and to collaborate with more large data providers and incentivize municipalities to share their data on our platform.

By building scalable systems for data acquisition and maintenance, we aim to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of our platform.

Conclusion

Ratio.City is committed to addressing Canada’s housing supply challenges through innovative, data-driven solutions. Our platform facilitates collaboration between housing developers and municipal staff, streamlining approval processes and reducing risk. With our plans for scaling and strategic partnerships, we are well-positioned to make a significant impact on housing development across Canada.