Addressing the Housing Supply Problem by Streamlining Development Approvals Processes
After being awarded funding under the CMHC Housing Supply Challenge, we’ll be expanding the Ratio.City platform to help solve one of our industry’s biggest pain points: accelerating pre-development processes.
As part of our work on the CMHC Housing Supply Challenge, Ratio.City is focusing on accelerate pre-development processes and address one of the housing industry's biggest pain points. By providing better data, communication, and feedback tools, our web-based platform will streamline the development approval process, making it easier for both housing developers and municipal planning departments to achieve their goals and increasing housing affordability for all Canadians. Here's what you can expect from Ratio.City by the end of the challenge.
The Problem:
Overly Complex Workflows in the Development Approval Process
The current pre-development process is inhibiting the creation of new housing supply. Complex and lengthy application processes, rising construction and financing costs, and a lack of resources are all making it difficult for housing developers and municipalities to achieve their goals.
At the same time, highly technical and specialized GIS tools make it hard for land use professionals to find the information they need. There are no industry tools for tracking housing impacts, making it difficult to measure outcomes and learn from previous projects.
The Solution:
Using Data to Support Transparency and Communication in the Housing Market
Ratio.City's web-based data analysis and collaboration tools will streamline site identification and the pre-development process, getting more housing into the market faster.
Our platform will provide housing developers with project-relevant data so they can identify great sites and evaluate economic feasibility.
Municipalities will benefit from more complete and thorough planning applications, reducing the amount of time required for review and speeding up the approvals process.
Our solution will focus on three key areas:
Better Submissions: Providing housing developers with project-relevant data so they can identify great sites and submit higher quality submissions. This means significantly less time amending and approving applications for municipalities.
Better Communication: Data sharing is key for preventing unnecessary back-and-forth between housing developers and municipalities. Our data analysis and collaboration tools will allow housing developers to easily keep up with policy changes and development activity and communicate their vision to municipal staff.
Better Feedback: By cycling development data back into the platform, all parties can see the outcomes of our efforts. This will allow municipalities and housing developers to better gauge the efficacy of approved projects and policies so they can prioritize similar initiatives. Providing easy access to housing outcomes data allows for stronger stakeholder alignment.
Our vision is to increase transparency and collaboration in all Canadian cities affected by a low housing supply and high demand.
Upcoming Platform Updates and Testing Opportunities
We'll be sharing more information about our housing solution in the months to come as we build out new features and functionality in our platform. Get updates and early access by joining our mailing list below or following us on social media.