Collaboration Between the Canadian Federal Government & Ecopia AI Uses Land Cover Data to Map Infrastructure Equity & Better Understand Flood Risk

September 3, 2024 -- Toronto -- Today, Ecopia AI (Ecopia) announces its recent collaboration with Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to map over 3,000 km² of land cover and infrastructure in the greater Montreal area. Through this engagement, Ecopia’s AI-based systems extracted detailed vector data from multi-view aerial imagery to support a number of applications related to transportation planning and flood mitigation. 

A department of the Canadian Federal Government, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada works with all orders of government and key partners to invest in modern public infrastructure and build inclusive, connected, and resilient communities. The information supplied by Ecopia enhances understanding of existing infrastructure and identifies areas in need to help inform funding-related decision-making. This not only identifies important disparities in infrastructure conditions, but also ensures that funds are optimally allocated to communities most in need.

A leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-based mapping, Ecopia has a 10+ year track record of providing comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date vector data to governments, private companies, and non-profit organizations to help decision-makers serve their organizations and communities with high-precision mapping data. Through this engagement, Ecopia has developed a 3D digital model of Montreal’s land cover, including transportation elements such as roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, bus stops, subway stations, and other infrastructure. Additionally, Ecopia delivered flood management and disaster resilience insights through high-precision vector data about impervious surfaces, natural water features, dams, and dikes. As water defenses in particular are underrepresented in Canadian mapping data, Ecopia’s unprecedented extraction of dams and dikes delivers critical insight into both pluvial and fluvial flooding across Montreal.

Explore a sample of this data below:

Mapping transportation infrastructure inequity

Analysis of the resulting data reveals which areas of the city have a disproportionate amount of road damage, providing crucial insights into transportation safety. When combined with census information, the road condition data shows that many of these areas are home to low-income populations, highlighting infrastructure inequity across Montreal. Ecopia has also provided a set of accessibility metrics to help support ACA (Accessible Canada Act) compliance and evaluate the accessibility and affordability of transportation systems across diverse demographic groups, including people with disabilities, the elderly, and low-income communities. 

“In a constantly changing world, Ecopia's high-precision geospatial data provides valuable insights into our surroundings,” said Yanick Clement-Godbout, Manager at Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. “This information plays a pivotal role in decision-making to bolster the equity and resilience of our infrastructure, ultimately enhancing the well-being of Canadians.”

Better understanding flood risk

Part of the Innovative Solutions Canada program, this project also provides the high-precision geospatial data needed to support strategic initiatives beyond infrastructure equity, including climate resilience. This data will help government agencies improve flood risk management, enhance safety, and optimize the operation of water defense assets, ultimately helping communities become more resilient amid the increasing intensity and frequency of climate events.

“We are proud to provide data to Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada that reveals important equity issues in our society, and offers actionable insight into how to remedy them,” said Jon Lipinski, Co-founder and President of Ecopia. “We’re on a mission to create a digital twin of the world, and are honored to help the federal government improve the quality of life for Canadians.”

For more information on Ecopia, click here. To view our HD map samples, click here.

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About Ecopia AI 
Ecopia is on a mission to create a digital twin of the Earth. We leverage artificial intelligence to convert high-resolution imagery into high-definition (HD) vector maps. These maps form a digital representation of reality and are embedded into decision-making applications, offering unique insight at scale. Ecopia’s HD vector maps are leveraged for hundreds of commercial and government applications across over 100 countries around the world.

About Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada's policies, programs and investments help build sustainable, inclusive and climate resilient communities while addressing challenges Canadians face every day, including access to:

• safe and affordable housing;
• modern and accessible public transit;
• climate resilient infrastructure to protect communities in the face of climate change;
• safe and clean water; and
• inclusive cultural and recreational community spaces.

Learn more at housing-infrastructure.canada.ca