A groundbreaking digital map is under development at the University of British Columbia (UBC) to catalog public land across British Columbia, assessing its potential for affordable housing. This initiative aims to provide policymakers, developers, and the public with a unified view of publicly owned parcels, facilitating advocacy and planning for much-needed housing.
Key Takeaways
- A new digital map by UBC will inventory all public land in B.C.
- The map will assess land suitability for affordable housing development.
- It aims to provide a free, accessible tool for advocacy and planning.
- Early analysis suggests potential for 25,000 to 50,000 affordable housing units.
Unlocking Housing Potential
The BC Public Lands Map, a project spearheaded by UBC's Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) team, is designed to consolidate information on land owned by municipal, provincial, federal, and Crown corporations. This comprehensive inventory will allow users to visualize available public land and evaluate its potential for non-market or affordable housing projects.
"If we’re going to get more affordable housing built in B.C., one of the key inputs is publicly owned land that can either be leased or disbursed at little to no cost for non-market or affordable housing development," stated Craig Jones, associate director of UBC's HART team. The project aims to quantify the amount of public land and qualify its suitability for housing development.
Interactive Features and Data Integration
The interactive map will not only identify vacant and well-located public lands but will also score them based on proximity to essential amenities such as transit, healthcare, and educational facilities. This scoring system is intended to assist governments, housing providers, and non-profits in planning new projects without straining existing infrastructure.
The project leverages data from the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC for parcel identification and combines it with property characteristics from BC Assessment. While data collection is complete, the team is now focused on developing a robust framework for assessing and communicating land suitability. This includes evaluating access to infrastructure like roads, water, sewage, and the electrical grid, as well as considering factors like nearby residential density and official community plans.
Addressing Housing Affordability Challenges
Currently, different levels of government manage their land holdings in silos. The new map will offer an aggregated view across these jurisdictions, applying a consistent evaluation methodology. Early findings from the project indicate a significant opportunity, with potential for 25,000 to 50,000 affordable housing units on public land in B.C. Furthermore, utilizing high-value public land could potentially reduce development costs by up to 60 percent.
Jones acknowledged that public land is not without its costs, as governments must balance competing demands. He suggested that "co-development," where affordable housing is integrated into other public projects like libraries or fire halls, could be a viable solution. Despite the opportunity costs, the project emphasizes the critical importance of affordable and non-market housing for British Columbia.
