The Rural Ontario Institute Announces The Launch Of The Rural Housing Information System in Northern Ontario
by Bob Montgomery
The Rural Ontario Institute, Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, and the Northern Policy Institute recently launched the Rural Housing Information System to rural Northern Ontario municipalities.
ROI Rural Housing Information System Northern Coordinator Zviko Gwekwerere says until now the Rural Housing Information System was only available in Eastern and Western Ontario so they're very happy to be sharing the program with the 145 northern municipalities. It's not unusual for several rural communities to be dealing with the same challenges and if they can get together and share their successes or failures, everyone benefits. Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association President Wendy Landry says the Rural Housing Information System will be beneficial for municipalities to access meaningful housing data for the North in one central location. This will be helpful to identify current available housing stock to address housing needs and inform and improve planning and policy-making in the housing sector.
Gwekwerere adds, “The lack of adequate housing data in Ontario is a barrier to the planning and construction of affordable housing development in many regions. The RHIS tool provides municipalities and stakeholders with accurate data to appropriately strategize housing development plans and bring affordable housing to their region - ultimately keeping residents in their communities of choice.”
The Rural Housing Information System is an innovative digital dashboard designed to fill the housing information gap. The tool, developed in collaboration with founder Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus, consolidates information that is available through Ontario municipalities’, social service administration boards’ and existing resources of GIS departments. Using consolidated data acquisition, the RHIS offers a streamlined approach to comprehensive housing data in a centralized, digital platform. Data is accessed through a user-friendly and automated dashboard, encompassing:
Demographic and economic trends, including population statistics, growth patterns, age distributions, and income data.
Comprehensive information on average home prices and real time market rental rates.
Identification of available zoned land suitable for multi-dwelling housing development.
Exploration of available incentives, including municipal grants or other incentives supporting housing initiatives.
A detailed inventory of housing assets and amenities within the region.
The capability to compare housing data among different municipalities, facilitating informed decision-making.
Gwekwerere says the challenges may differ slightly from one rural community to another, but the major problem is the shortage of affordable housing, and that's a problem in almost all rural communities, and particularly the shortage of housing for renters. That is being addressed RHIS tool. Gwekwerere says current rental prices are available now, but they're only provided to communities with a population of ten-thousand or more, but the RHIS tool provides that information to all communities, regardless of population. The Rural Housing Information System is open to Municipal staff, builders and developers across Ontario and they're encouraging those people to sign up at https://www.ruralontariohousing.ca/. ROI will engage Northern partners in user testing throughout July and August.
