Applied Geographic Solutions, Inc.

As defined by the Bureau of Housing and Urban Development, Difficult Development Areas (DDA) are defined as areas with high land, construction and utility costs relative to the area median income. While HUD provides low-income housing tax credits to encourage affordable housing developments, many commercial real estate brokers try not to choose sites in these areas due to the demographic makeup and high crime in these areas. However, if given the right set of tools, a site can thrive in these areas and become good opportunities for investors willing to take on the challenges of a tricky area. Read more on the blog: https://lnkd.in/g8zvzJ8Z

Toronto has long been hailed as a great example of a public transit system that works. For many years, the downtown core was where all the job action was – the banking and insurance towers, the countless government buildings known as Queen’s Park, the University of Toronto, and the city’s major hospitals were concentrated into the compact area bounded by Bloor Street, Lake Ontario, Spadina Avenue, and Jarvis Street. What of that city remains some fifty years after the public transit system was built? Link to the post is in the comments.

We are excited to announce the release of a new databases for Canada, BusinessCounts and Point of Interest (POI) data. These new databases will nicely compliment the other Canadian data that we currently carry. For more information on these new databases, keep reading in the first comment.

This past weekend, we went to see our first movie at a theater in quite some time. Perhaps Saturday at 5:00 p.m. is not peak time, and perhaps there really aren’t too many quality movies out there right now, but the place was deserted. I counted five people in the theater. It is a decent, if slightly worn, facility that offers reclining seats, lots of legroom, and seat delivery of food and beverages. Read more of Gary's latest musing over on the blog.

At the end of each month, the AGS team looks back at articles and blog posts that we saw this month that stood out to us. Some are from news agencies, and many come from our partners, but not all use our data. Here is the round-up from March 2025.

This week, it was announced that 23andMe, the company that analyzed your DNA to find out ancestry and health information, is declaring bankruptcy. After a large data breach in 2023 and declining financials since, this isn’t a shocking revelation. What is shocking to many, especially former users, is that user data is available to be sold in bankruptcy proceedings. So, what happens to the DNA you trusted the company to keep private? Is your data really ever private?

Every year, the spectacle of March Madness takes over, and brackets determine the moods of many Americans. While cheering for your college or local team may be fun, it is also big business for local economies that host these events. Who is watching NCAA basketball games?

When I’m not working, or entertaining a toddler, I find myself stitching needlepoint projects (no, I am not 85, needlepoint is popular again with a younger crowd). There is lots of chatter in the craft world about Joann stores closing. Where will we buy our embroidery floss, fabrics and crafting supplies? Sometimes, it takes a store closure for us to appreciate the service that it provides to our communities.

Earlier this month, we hosted an incredible #webinar with Applied Geographic Solutions, Inc.—diving deep into how retailers and real estate teams can leverage high-quality data to make smarter site selection decisions. 📍📊 We covered: 🔹 The role of accurate mobility and demographic data in retail expansion 🔹 Best practices for evaluating site opportunities with confidence 🔹 Mitigating risk in real estate decision-making One key theme that stood out? Managing risk. When making big financial decisions on new locations, the data you rely on should reduce uncertainty—not add to it. Our goal? To ensure that the risk of using location data is as low as possible, while still giving you full confidence in your decisions. 🎥Missed the session? Watch it on demand here: https://lnkd.in/gxeMjhgq #locationintelligence #geoai #gismapping #retailrealestate _________________________________________________________________ 👉 Like our stuff? - REPOST to your network! - Please FOLLOW us! - SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER on LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/ez4YQaMg

As part of our ongoing project to revolutionize the accuracy of small area demographic estimates, AGS has been busy constructing a national parcel level file as one of the cornerstones of our focus that identifies new addresses as they are created, developed, and occupied. This, combined with our other efforts, will transform the way that demographic data is created.