Spotlight

The big news

• After a successful beta period and valuable feedback from stakeholders, we’re excited to announce the upcoming full release of the Canadian Housing Observatory (CHO) platform! 
• Over the past year, we’ve been developing CHO to make housing data easier to access and understand. The platform brings together datasets from across Canada into a single, intuitive space where users can explore housing trends and export data and graphics for further analysis.

 

New features

The team is constantly improving the Curbcut experience

• You can now explore our platforms with the support of Curbcut Assistant! It’s a built-in AI chatbot that can instantly give you insights and answer questions about the data on our platforms in plain language. If you’re not sure where to start, it can help you navigate the platform too.

  

• We’ve built a national travel-time matrix that computes travel times by foot, bike and car between every dissemination block in Canada, the country’s smallest census geography. What makes this especially impressive is that it’s pre-computed, so instead of recalculating routes for each new analysis, you can instantly answer equity questions about access to grocery stores or healthcare services for any neighbourhood in the country! 
• Curbcut now includes a built-in glossary to help make the platform more accessible to everyone. Whether you’re new to statistical concepts or want a clearer sense of what a specific indicator measures, definitions are now available directly within the platform!

  

Organizational updates

What's going on in and around Curbcut

• Summer is always a busy time for us; each year a team of student interns joins the team for several months. This year, they’ll be taking on two ambitious data collection projects: 
• Continuing to build one of the most comprehensive nationwide zoning databases of its kind. 
• Collecting data and creating a Canada-wide database on the fees that municipalities charge developers when building new homes. 
• We’re excited to announce that Curbcut will be exhibiting at FUSION 2026, the joint national planning conference of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) and the OUQ. The conference runs July 7–9, 2026, at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth in Montréal. If you’re there, be sure to stop by our booth to say hi and see what’s new!  
• The Curbcut team continues to grow. We’re excited to have welcomed two new members:  
  • Samuel Kohn joins us as our Director of Strategy and Growth. Sam brings years of experience working at the intersection of urban data, public institutions, and policy. He has a long-standing connection to Curbcut, having been part of the original McGill research team back in 2020. He’s focused on building partnerships, expanding our platform offerings, and shaping our emerging SaaS model. 
  • Nicholas Haley joins us as our Lead Product Engineer. Nic has a track record of building products from the ground up, bringing a mix of product thinking, design sensibility, and engineering expertise. He’s focused on improving performance across all our applications and building the foundation for future tools.

    

• We have more exciting news in the pipeline that we’re not ready to share just yet, stay tuned for more info in our upcoming newsletters!