This housing needs study was conducted to provide the Town of Fort Erie with a data-driven basis upon which specific local housing priorities can be developed. Working closely with the Town of Fort Erie, CANCEA provided a database, conducted local stakeholder consultations and delivered a final housing needs report which delivers insight into Fort Erie’s demographic trends and local housing market conditions.
In addition to the housing needs analysis, the project involved the following elements:
Database Curation: Fort Erie was provided with a comprehensive database of housing and demographic data, combining data about the current stock of rental, ownership and affordable housing in Fort Erie by type and location with data about households and individuals themselves, including the type of household, income level, age of maintainer, and whether the household faces core housing need or affordability challenges. The database included historical data as well as forecasts for each census year up until 2041. The database was made available to Fort Erie in the form of a user-friendly excel spreadsheet, complete with dashboard and tables that can easily be filtered by relevant characteristics.
Municipal Consultations: The Town’s Affordable Housing Committee, made up of local stakeholders from civic groups, non-profit organizations, health providers, the private sector and community members took part in two rounds of consultations. In the initial round, the committee was presented with the initial data and results from the housing analysis. In the discussion following the presentation, stakeholders could share whether the data capture was representative of their local experience, to identify relevant gaps and to add any information for inclusion into the housing needs analysis. The second round of consultations focused on identifying appropriate priorities and policies for Fort Erie.
Growth Scenario Analysis: CANCEA modelled alternative development scenarios up to the 2041 planning horizon under conditions of slow, status quo and target growth (the target growth scenario aligns to Fort Erie’s target household population under Places to Grow and the Municipal Comprehensive Review). These scenarios revealed the potential socio-economic impacts of pursuing alternative growth paths, including the effect on core housing need, on employment and occupation type, and on the income mix of residents.
The full Housing Needs Study can be found in Appendix 1 of Fort Erie’s Housing Needs Study Administrative Report.
