Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada

🏘️ Why Developers Are Turning to Smaller Municipalities – And the Challenges They Face With the rising costs, delays, and uncertainties of developing within major cities, more developers are exploring projects outside urban centers, especially around Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) areas. The advantages are clear: lower financial risk, faster approvals, and fewer regulatory bottlenecks. But what happens when development picks up in smaller municipalities? The Strain on Local Teams For smaller municipalities, this surge in interest can be overwhelming. Limited GIS and planning resources, smaller teams, and constrained land availability make it hard to keep up with demand. Issues like newly designated flood zones, prime agricultural land, and restricted data access add even more complexity. The Current Reality: Emails and Calls Currently, requests for information are often passed between planning and GIS departments via emails and phone calls—a time-consuming and clunky process. These bottlenecks slow down approvals, frustrate developers, and put immense pressure on municipalities to perform beyond capacity. A Digital, Collaborative Solution What’s needed? A digital platform that provides easy access to key data points—what can be built, where it’s allowed, the impacts on surroundings (think view cones, shadow studies), and much more. This platform needs to be a powerful GIS and BIM solution that doesn't require any specific technical knowledge or set-up. Imagine protected areas, farmland maps, financial overlays, and even case studies available at a glance, all in a collaborative environment that supports efficient decision-making and speeds up the entire process. What Data Would You Find Most Useful? If you could access any data set to streamline development in emerging areas, what would it be? Where do you see the biggest opportunities for digital collaboration to make a difference? Comment below with your thoughts! #UrbanPlanning #HousingCrisis #DataDrivenDecisions #RealEstate #cityplanning #housing #urbandevelopment #smartcities #density #urbandata #realestate #urbantech #proptech 

What an incredible day at our first in-person event "Collaborate & Innovate - Tech for Streamlined Development"! The room at Hart House was full of inspiring discussions, fresh ideas, and new connections. A big thanks to everyone who joined us and helped make it such a success! We kicked things off with an engaging talk from Naama Blonder of Smart Density, who highlighted the critical role of technology in driving efficiencies and how sharing knowledge across the industry is essential for growth. Graeme Kennedy from Tenblock gave an eye-opening presentation on how leveraging tech enables them to optimize collaboration with consultants. Instead of spending time on low-value questions, they’re able to tackle the high-value issues that truly move projects forward. Plus, with greater control over their process, they can operate at their own pace—no more big favors needed! Terence Tourangeau of SvN Architects + Planners demonstrated how automation is transforming their workflow. He also touched on a key point: just because AI can do something doesn’t mean it should. Quality always trumps quantity when it comes to technology’s role in design. Finally, Aaron Yick of BlackTusk Group Inc. spoke about how his firm thrives today because of the tech tools available that streamline site feasibility—tools that didn’t exist 10-15 years ago. It was fascinating to see how they manage to do it all with such efficiency! 💬 Huge thanks to all the presenters and attendees for making this event so engaging! If you missed out, don’t worry—there will be more! Follow Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada for updates on future events. #UrbanPlanning #HousingCrisis #DataDrivenDecisions #RealEstate #cityplanning #housing #urbandevelopment #smartcities #density #urbandata #realestate #urbantech #proptech

Sibeal McCourt, Data Manager at Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada will be presenting at MGUG 2024 Fall Conference on the importance of GIS in housing planning and development in Canada! Sibeal will be discussing key challenges, how GIS can help, and what it’s like working in a field with low GIS adoption. Don’t miss this informative session! https://lnkd.in/gjdrYqKN #GIS #HousingDevelopment #UrbanPlanning

Last Thursday, Katharine Stanbridge and Aelena Foster-Chandler from Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada, had the pleasure of taking part in an inspiring evening at Chef’s Hall with over 75 attendees! Thank you to Brittany H. Lee, founder at Urban Techies for hosting such an amazing event. 🙌 The discussions between startup founders, public sector innovators, engineers, and data experts highlighted incredible advancements, from open-source Lidar mapping to grid modernization and transportation innovation. Looking forward to the next gathering! 🚀 #UrbanTech #Innovation #EsriCanada #CityPlanning #UrbanPlanning #RealEstate #Housing #HousingCrisis

Ce fut un réel plaisir de participer à cet événement et de représenter Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada et Esri Canada lors de la conférence annuelle des urbanistes ! Un grand merci à Caroline Gosselin et à toute l’équipe de l'OUQ pour l’excellente organisation. 🙏 Hâte de continuer ces discussions passionnantes et de voir les solutions SIG contribuer à la gestion des défis urbains au Québec. À l'année prochaine ! 👋 #Urbanisme #SIG #Municipalités #OUQ #Québec #Logement

La semaine dernière a été riche en événements et en rencontres ! Notre équipe, avec Dominic Germain - Esri Canada et Rafael Brancewicz de Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada, a eu le plaisir de participer à la conférence annuelle des urbanistes organisée par l'Ordre des urbanistes du Québec. Cet événement nous a permis de dialoguer avec des utilisateurs de nos solutions #SIG, de présenter de nouvelles innovations et, surtout, d'en apprendre davantage sur les défis auxquels font face les municipalités du Québec. Si vous n'avez pas eu l'occasion de discuter avec nous, ou si vous souhaitez découvrir comment nos solutions peuvent vous aider, notamment, à relever la crise du logement et accélérer vos projets en toute confiance, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter ! #Urbanisme #SIG #Municipalités #ConférenceOUQ #crisedulogement #logements #immobilier #urbaniste

🚨 It's Still Time to Register! Our first in-person event for #GTA City Builders is happening soon. Collaborate & Innovate: Tech for Streamlined Development Join us this Wednesday to learn how collaborative technology is transforming the development process and tackling today's market challenges. Agenda: 🔹 Hear from leading experts 🔹 Learn tech-driven strategies to enhance teamwork and efficiency 🔹 Network over a complimentary lunch 📅 Date: Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024 🕰️ Time: 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM 📍 Location: Hart House, University of Toronto, 7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 3H3 💼 RSVP Now: https://lnkd.in/exPMKXj9 🌟 Bonus: Optional tour of historic Hart House after the event! Seats are limited—don’t miss your chance to drive innovation in Ontario’s development sector. #CityBuilding #Topoli #urbandevelopment #citydevelopment #urbanplanning #cityplanning #housing #housingdevelopment #housingcrisis

This past Thursday, we hosted our 16th Urban Techies Social. Personally, it was a bit of of a full circle moment for me as we were lucky enough to partner with my old stomping grounds, Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada. Thank you Katharine Stanbridge and Monika Jaroszonek! Furthermore, I had the pleasure of meeting Brendan Ardagh at our last social and with his eagerness to give back to the urban startup community, we were lucky to have his company Provision sponsor us, too. Thus I fully attribute our record-breaking social (~75 attendees with 50+ on waitlist) to our sponsors’ bar tab! It was great to see such a diverse group of people from public, private, and not for profit sectors who are leading projects at the intersection of urbanism and technology. The innovation in this city never ceases to impress… I learned from new friends about open-source Lidar mapping, grid modernaization automations, and transportation stakeholder engagement - hi Rebecca Swabey, P.Eng., Prajjwal Bhandari, Arthur Smith. Thanks to everyone who came out - see you at the next one!

Are you attending the Manitoba GIS User Group 2024 Fall Conference on October 29th? Be sure to catch our Data Manager, Sibeal McCourt, as she discusses the pivotal role #GIS plays in #housing planning and development across Canada, from both public and private sector perspectives. Sibeal will explore some of the key challenges in the field, how GIS can address them, and what it’s like working in an industry where GIS adoption is still growing. #housingcrisis #gis #sig #digitaltwin #MGUG #ConferenceSeason #cityplanning #urbanplanning

Canada's Housing Crisis Demands Action: It’s Time to Build Faster, Smarter, and More Efficiently Canada’s housing crisis is affecting every province and municipality. There is an urgent need to build more, build faster, and focus on densification. Some argue that we don’t have enough land to develop. But, as Naama Blonder recently demonstrated in her Toronto case study, that's simply not true https://lnkd.in/gQcXdhdH. Beyond the availability of land, we’re also facing unprecedented challenges: climate change, floods, fires, and outdated processes. Major housing projects take 3-5 years to get approvals, and that’s too long. The solution? Digitizing the industry and building trust through collaboration. We believe in cleaning up the data and creating tools that empower all stakeholders—from developers to municipalities—to collaborate seamlessly. Our platform makes the entire process, from finding the right parcel of land to designing 3D massings, faster and more efficient. By enhancing approval meetings and speeding up permits, we're helping to bridge the gap between housing demand and supply. However, there are critical challenges to overcome: - Private companies hesitate to invest when the approval processes are as long as permitting itself. - Many organizations hold onto their tools to remain competitive. But the reality is, sharing solutions means faster approvals, which benefits everyone. With our platform, for example, projects can be saved and shared effortlessly. - “Can we upload our own data? Can we see all our assets without making it public?” These are common questions we hear. The answer is yes—all your data is private and protected. - Customization and Technical Challenges: Canada’s vast geography and diverse housing needs make a one-size-fits-all solution impossible. Each region has unique challenges like land availability, quality, and environmental protections. Our platform is flexible, catering to the specific needs of different locations. At Ratio.City, we provide collaborative solutions that allow you to make more informed decisions, faster—no matter where you're located. With access to hundreds of data sets and the ability to upload your own, you can identify underused parcels, manage assets, collaborate with your team, and more. Interested in learning more? Visit our website or book a call today! https://www.ratio.city/ Plus, check out this interactive experience to see how easy it can be to find land based on specific search criteria: https://bit.ly/3NojmNC #UrbanPlanning #HousingCrisis #DataDrivenDecisions #RealEstate #cityplanning #housing #urbandevelopment #smartcities