Toronto data hub provides housing information

  • April 5, 2023
  • Steve Rogerson

The city of Toronto has launched a housing data hub, a central and publicly accessible source for information related to housing in the city.

The hub aims to improve accountability and transparency by tracking the city’s progress on creating more housing in Toronto. It will help publicly showcase the city’s approach to enabling housing production to achieve or exceed the provincial housing target of 285,000 new Toronto homes in the next ten years.

It will also help track the city’s progress towards meeting its target of approving 40,000 affordable rental homes by 2030.

The hub brings together key housing data related to the social and affordable housing portfolio under the city’s administration, including:

  • the affordable rental housing pipeline with homes that are approved, under construction and completed
  • details on rental units that have been demolished and replaced
  • the existing social housing stock and data from the central waiting list
  • maps showing where affordable rental projects in the pipeline are, as well as where social housing buildings are located in the city

Data included in the hub will ensure that new policies, programmes and financial investments are evidence-based to help optimise limited public resources while increasing outcomes for Toronto residents, targeting areas and populations most in need.

“The housing data hub helps us track our accomplishments and opportunities for growth and allows us to continue to develop data-informed, evidence-based policies and initiatives to create new, safe and healthy homes quickly,” said deputy mayor Jennifer McKelvie.

Data in the hub will be presented via online data dashboards as well as an annually published data book, which provides insights into the health of Toronto’s housing system by bringing together housing-related data, including looking at key housing indicators, from both Toronto sources and external sources, including Statistics Canada and the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation.

The hub will grow over time to include new data points that align with the strategic goals of the city. The data will also be included in the city’s open data portal available on the housing data hub.

“Our housing data hub allowed us to demonstrate how we are taking immediate action to deliver more housing for Toronto residents,” said councillor Brad Bradford, chair of the Planning & Housing Committee. “We are committed to creating real solutions to Toronto’s housing crisis, and we continue to ensure that more people in need of housing are getting keys to their own permanent homes, not temporary solutions. This housing data hub increases our accountability to the public and key stakeholders, informs the development of effective strategy, and moves us quickly towards our goal of ensuring that more Toronto residents have a place to call home.”

Toronto is home to more than three million people and is the fourth largest city in North America.