🎓 BC Housing Transparency Project — Student Research Challenge
A call to UBC, SFU, BCIT, and other academic programs
🧭 Background
Housing in British Columbia is frequently reported through high-level figures such as:
- “homes built”
- “units delivered”
- “affordable housing created”
However, these figures are not connected in a way that allows the public to understand the full reality of housing outcomes.
Data exists across multiple systems:
- BC Housing (project delivery and funding streams)
- CMHC (rents, vacancy rates, housing affordability indicators)
- City of Vancouver / Metro Vancouver (permits, zoning, development approvals)
- Private rental listings (market rent levels and availability)
But these datasets remain fragmented and are not integrated into a transparent public system.
⚠️ The Problem
There is currently no public, unified way to answer key questions such as:
- What housing has actually been built since 2017?
- What do those units actually rent for today in the open market?
- Are they affordable to seniors, low-income households, or median wage earners?
- How many people remain on waitlists despite reported housing “delivery”?
- Where is housing supply increasing, but affordability still declining?
This creates a gap between policy reporting and lived experience.
🎓 The Challenge
We are calling on students and academic departments at:
- University of British Columbia (UBC) — School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), Urban Studies, Geography, Data Science
- Simon Fraser University (SFU) — City Program, Urban Studies, Public Policy
- British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) — GIS, Data Analytics, Urban Systems
- Emily Carr University of Art + Design — data visualization and public communication
- University of Victoria (UVic) — Public Administration, Social Policy, Geography
- Langara College / Capilano University / Douglas College — community research and applied social sciences programs
🧱 Research Goals
Develop an open, public-facing housing transparency model that:
1. Maps housing supply
- new builds by category:
- condos
- purpose-built rentals
- supportive housing
- social housing
- timelines of completion (2017–present)
2. Tracks real affordability
- actual market rents by neighbourhood
- comparison to income groups:
- seniors on fixed income (OAS/CPP)
- minimum wage earners
- median household income
3. Connects supply to outcomes
- occupancy where data is available
- waitlist pressure indicators
- vacancy rates vs affordability gaps
4. Visualizes the disconnect
- where housing is being built vs where people can actually afford to live
🎯 Outcome Goal
To create a publicly accessible system that connects:
housing production → real rental conditions → actual affordability outcomes
This would allow the public, policymakers, and researchers to evaluate housing policy based on measurable reality rather than aggregate claims.
📣 Why this matters
Housing is one of the most important public systems in British Columbia, yet it is currently difficult to assess whether new supply is:
- truly affordable
- accessible to vulnerable populations
- aligned with demographic need (especially aging seniors)
Without integrated data, public debate remains fragmented and incomplete.
✊ Closing call
This is not just a research project.
It is a transparency project.
And it is an invitation to students and institutions to help build a clearer public understanding of one of the most urgent issues in British Columbia today.
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