2024 was one of HART’s biggest years yet: we completed our initial project, received an award for our research excellence, added features to our HNA Tool, and created a brand new HNR Calculator for municipalities in British Columbia. As we enter a census year and even greater precarity in the housing sector, HART’s work has never been more relevant, and we’re working hard to develop expanded tools and data for Canadians.
The major milestone we achieved in 2024 was completing our initial project. With funding from the Housing Supply Challenge: Data-Driven round, HART successfully delivered:
- A comprehensive, standardized Housing Needs Assessment Tool covering every community in Canada
- An interactive map of government-owned land in 12 communities, ranked by proximity to key amenities and infrastructure
- An extensive review, map, and report on property acquisitions policies across the world
- Six step-by-step guides for communities in Canada to develop their own property acquisitions strategies
- An expansive overview of policy implications of our research
- An interactive e-learning course in both English and French.
Since launch, HART has been used by thousands of people and cited by hundreds of communities across Canada, and our research has informed policy at every level of government. Our final evaluation report includes praise from governments and non-profits across Canada, as well as key recommendations on how we can expand the work we do to have an even greater impact.
In addition to completing our initial project, HART has raised the bar and added new tools, built new features, and shared our work with new audiences. In 2024 we also:
- Added an Indigenous Housing Needs tab to our HNA Tool
- Added a feature to compare housing need by tenure
- Developed the BC HNR Calculator, an automated tool for every BC municipality to comply with new government HNA requirements
- Published a report on housing yield, allowing communities to calculate the potential housing output of available public land
- Presented our work and findings at seven events nationwide, expanding audiences to new communities.
Even though our initial funding project has completed, we’re working harder than ever to develop more tools and better features to bring consistent, reliable, and comparable data to Canadians. Some opportunities we want to pursue in 2025 include:
- Preparation for updating our HNA with 2025 census data
- Add “proximity to transit” measures in our HNA
- Allow for different configurations of housing need calculations, including by electoral boundaries
- Supporting the federal government to create standardized HNA templates
- Renew our land map data and expand to new geographies
- Amend our maps to feature electoral boundaries
- Incorporate infrastructure capacity into our maps.
If you think these tools are useful and powerful for your purposes, please consider signing our letter of support or subscribing to our newsletter, where you’ll be one of the first to know about our newest projects, tools, and features.
Here’s to 2025!
