bpr site selection

Town of Town of Oakville Economic Development Department

http://www.oakville.ca/economicdevelopment

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Table of Contents I. Table of Contents ........................................................................................ 1

II. Executive Summary ..................................................................................... 2

Common Findings ...................................................................................................... 2 III. Website Reviews .......................................................................................... 3

State Book International .......................................................................................... 3 Yes Virginia; Site Selection Tools .......................................................................... 7 Hamilton Site Finder ............................................................................................... 10 YP Next Home ............................................................................................................ 13 Altus InSite: Dynamic 3D View ............................................................................ 17 Zoom Prospector: GIS Planning ........................................................................... 20

IV. Recommendations ..................................................................................... 29

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Executive Summary Site Selection is a growing industry, and many communities are updating their tools with new and improved software and data creating an attractive atmosphere for their users. Throughout this Site Selection Website Best Practices Review it is seen that the main focus of all webpages is to help the user get the information that they want.

Various customizations of information allow users to use the tools to their advantage and pinpoint the specific information that they want to know. This allows users to have a sense of control over the tool, making it more attractive to them.

Many of the webpage reviews below demonstrate different and unique ways of showing data which is beneficial to the user, and also beneficial to Phase 2 of Oakville’s Site Selection Tool. Updating Find Oakville will attract more users and help businesses expand and locate where best suitable.

Areas of focus in this report are; heat mapping, report generating, radius searching, 3D models, and comparing cities. These are all tools which were found in the various reviews and are also listed below in Common Findings. By updating all these features the Find Oakville tool could become a leading search tool for businesses looking for industrial, commercial, or land properties in Oakville.

Common Findings

Webpage Heat Maps

Report Generating

Radius Searches

3D Models

Comparing Cities

State Book International ü ü ü

Yes Virginia ü ü

Hamilton Site Finder ü ü ü YP Next Home ü Altus InSite ü ü Zoom Prospector: Niagara Site Finder ü ü ü Navigate Newell ü ü ü ü Great Lakes Bay Region ü ü ü ü ü

Oregon Prospector ü ü ü ü ü

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Website Reviews

State Book International Webpage: https://www.statebook.com/

Description

State Book International is a National site selection tool that allows users to focus their search from a national to a local scale; either by State, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), or County. State Book International works with Economic Development Organizations (EDOs), Site Selectors, Universities and Government Agencies to collect the most trusted data and create an online marketplace for economic development, corporate site selection and property search. The search can be filtered by the many different attributes including:

• Arts and Culture • Climate and Geography • Demographics • Education • Health • Household and Income • Housing, Incentives • Industries

• Lifestyle • Taxation • Transportation • Utilities • Workforce and Training • Sites and Buildings • Radius • Manual

Each of these attributes allows the user to define their search to exactly what they want to know about the area. Options to compare areas are also available, and the ability to save filter options helps to compare the different locations based on the information the user wants.

State Book International allows the user to use their map tool for all of the filters for free, but to do a more in depth search and compare sites you must pay for a subscription.

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Stand-‐‑out Functionality

Specific Search and Saving

The most stand-‐‑out function of State Book International is all of the filters it provides and how each filter can be adjusted to the users’ specific search. All of the filters provided offer different information about the area they have selected. Another interesting search functionality is the radius tool, which allows users to define their search within a specific radius of the location they have chosen. The depth of each filter gives the user many different options of what they would like to see, and being able to select multiple filters allows them to have all the information they want. Users can save their selection of filters and reuse those exact same filters for another location.

For example; State Books’ Demographics filter can be broken down into multiple categories. The images below show how State Book portrays their data: Image 1 shows Age Demographics, image 2 shows Language Ability Demographics, image 3 shows Population Demographics, and image 4 shows Race and Ethnicity demographics. These filters are then added to a side section where the user can use the filters they selected to build a report for a specific County, MSA, or State. This is a function that can help the user gain information about a location they may be interested in.

Image 1: State Book International shows a wide range of Age Demographics including; Age Range, Population by Age Ranges, Age Dependency Ratios, Median Age, and Old-‐‑Age Dependency Ratio.

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Image 2: State Book International shows all the different Language Ability Demographics of the States by creating a full wide range of Languages from A to Z including; Arabic, Chinese, English, etc.

Image 3: State Book International has Population Demographics including Total Population, Total Female Population, and Total Male Population.

Image 4: State Book International shows Race and Ethnicity Demographics of the States by separating into different races and ethnicities into categories.

This shows how in depth and specific State Book International’s searches can be and this goes for all the filters across the top. The user can pick each filter they want to view and then save it as a bundle and view all the information in one tab, allowing for a specific search and a filter saving feature.

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Image 5: Example of a Search with the Filters on the right-‐‑hand side.

Image 5 is an example of how the tool is in-‐‑depth and provides information. New York State was selected along with some of the many filters offered including Percent of Unemployment, Population in labour force, Total Population, etc.

State Book International has included a tab called Organizations (Image 6). This stand-‐‑out feature shows all the Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) for the area that the user has selected. By clicking the EDO State Books redirects the user to a new webpage with all the information about that EDO. Another stand-‐‑out here is the Region Information tab (Image 7). All of the filters that the user has selected have been summarized into a regional information area, giving them everything they are looking for.

Image 6: EDOs tab by State and including links to their webpages.

Image 7: Regional Information Tab.

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Yes Virginia; Site Selection Tools Webpage: http://www.yesvirginia.org/ToolsResources/SiteSelection

Community Information

The State of Virginia has an increasing population of 8, 326, 289 people as of 2014, Virginia is located on the Atlantic Coast of the United States with North Carolina to the South and Maryland to the North and they are striving for new investments.

Description

Virginia Scan is a webpage set out to provide information for businesses and to market their state as “the best state for business”. Saying ‘yes’ to Virginia is saying yes to lower operating costs and access to high skilled education and global markets. This webpage has been purely developed to attract businesses, market Virginia and even provide success for current businesses in the State. There are three main features to this webpage: Comparing Virginia to other States, Search Available Properties, and Viewing Community Profiles. The main purpose of this webpage is as a marketing tool to get people interested in developing their business in Virginia, and they do this by listing all the benefits of locating business there. The webpage also provides the user with a lot of information on the workforce, education, research and development, location and infrastructure, and the quality of life in the State. Another feature this page portrays is the opportunity of Global Focus; allowing your business to expand internationally with investment.

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Image 8: Virginia Scan Comparison Tool and Features.

Image 9: Example of Virginia Scan Comparing States.


Comparing Cities & States

Out of the three main features: Compare Virginia to other States, Search Available Properties, and View Community Profiles, the most stand out function is the Comparison tool seen in image 8.

This tool allows the user to Compare Virginia with other states and provides data on:

• Income and Output • Workforce • Education • Cost of doing Business • Fiscal Strength • Entrepreneurship and Innovation • Foreign Direct Investment

The user is able to select the areas that are of interest to them and create a business type report in PDF or Excel Spreadsheet.

A stand out function here is that the user can select more up to three other States to compare to Virginia seen in image 9. The information is then generated for all the States and collected in all the categories. Image 10 is an example of the kind of data that is shown in the report. Certain features can also be hidden from the downloadable report by clicking the X on the right hand side.

Image 10: Example of Virginia Scan Comparing States with the Selected Data, Income and Output.

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Image 11: Virginia Scan Comparing Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).

Another stand out feature in this tool is that the user can also compare Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). MSAs are geographical areas that have a relatively high density at the core and also have economic ties in the area.

This feature allows the user to see full reports on any selected MSAs, which is a great function to have when thinking about locating a business in a specific area.

Yes Virginia also has its own community profiles section, which can be divided by county, region, MSA, or even a view of the commonwealth of Virginia. The user can download a PDF based on whatever location in Virginia they are looking at, and it will provide them with information on:

Data Source

The data used to generate the reports is from various sources. The majority of the data is from:

• The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis • The U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau • The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics • Digest of Education Statistics, 2014 Edition, National Center for Education Statistics • Research Institute of America

• Location within the State • Labour Market • Unemployment Rates • Population Characteristics • Educational Attainment

• Transportation • Financial Institutions • Community Facilities • Lifestyle

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Hamilton Site Finder Webpage: http://www.investinhamilton.ca/ ; http://siteselector.hamilton.ca/

Community Information

The City of Hamilton is located an equal distance of a 1 hour drive from the City of Toronto and the U.S. Border. Hamilton has a population of over 500, 000 and a well-‐‑educated workforce, natural amenities, and diverse economy, it is a prime choice for future economic opportunities.

Hamilton is also made up of 7 communities:

• Ancaster • Dundas • Flamborough • Glanbrook • Hamilton • Stoney Creek • Downtown Hamilton.

Description The City of Hamilton’s Economic Development Division has created this page to attract businesses to the growing area. The Invest in Hamilton Site Selector page is to help businesses come to Hamilton. It provides the user with the information they need about available properties and existing businesses in the area. The Site Selector tool is a collaborative effort between the Regional Commercial Council of the Realtors Association of Hamilton-‐‑Burlington and the City of Hamilton’s Economic Development Division. The City of Hamilton has a large array of employment lands which is why they market the city as an economically diverse location. The site selector also allows the user to distinguish searches by community which can help if they are interested in a particular area.

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Image 12: Hamilton Site Selector Filters and View

Image 13: Example of Radius Search.

Image 14: Example of Business Report based on Radius Search.


Radius Search

The Hamilton Site Selector tool provides a functional business tool for users looking for buildings or land. It gives the user a number of different options to choose from in every section: Property Type Building, Sale Type and even which Community they have

interest in. Once a location has been selected the user can see other available properties close by. The user is also able to select the areas that are of interest to them and create a business type report and print it off. A simple radius search in the business types tab allows the user to select a specific distance from the potential location seen in image 13. This creates a list of the different types of business in the area, the percentage of that area that they take up and also the total number of businesses in each section seen in image 14. This is a great function if the user really wants to narrow their data to a particular area.

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Image 15: Radius Search with all the Business Types on the Map.

For additional detail, the user can actually click on the type of business and see all the locations around their potential location this is seen in image 15. Along with this is an actual list of all the places that are of that business type and in the area.

This is a great tool to see the diversity of a specific business type and allows the user to identify which businesses they could be in competition with or even what businesses could be of use.

Data Source

The Hamilton Site Selector has demographic information as well. The Demographic data source is Statistics Canada Census Data from 2006, together with the City of Hamilton’s Planning and Economic Development Department.

The data in the business types section is generated and maintained by YLM. It is their responsibility to keep the information that they provide for the city up-‐‑to-‐‑date. (www.ylm.ca)

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YP Next Home Webpage: http://nexthome.yp.ca/

Description

Yellow Pages Next Home is a leading provider of media and online advertising solutions for the Real Estate Industry. Although this is not a typical page for economic development site selection, it provides appealing search properties and community profiles that Find Oakville could use. This webpage alone is provided for all of Canada, allowing users to search any property listings in Canada and viewing specific profiles. Yellow Pages created YP Next Home to help builders, developers, and real estate agents to advertise their properties. Yellow Pages connects with Canadians nationally and regionally.

Yellow Pages Next Home is a site selection interface that allows a user to select a number of filters based on their interests. The user can search by any location in Canada, with this there are three options; Rent, New Construction, and Realtor Listings. All of the options also provide an area of filters based on the property type the user is looking for. Once a potential location is selected the user can further see a neighbourhood profile with some demographics about the area as well. This could be useful to anyone look to move to an area or even build a business in an area. The webpage also provides national news and information for users to see what is happening in local and national news.

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Image 16: YP Next Home, Search Tabs and filter features.

Image 17: Community Highlight Feature


Specific Search

The first stand-‐‑out feature here is the Search tab; it provides a colorful and appealing view of the available properties as seen in image 16. The user can then select the filters that are suitable for them some including; Commercial and Office space, and Commercial Building.

Another interesting feature here is that the user can select to view the available listings in Map view or List view. Having different viewing options is good because the user may have different preferences of looking at information.

Once an area has been selected it is then highlighted as in image 17. The user can now click on the property they are interested in. The tab on the right of the map is the link to further information about the available property listing. Another feature here is that the community area is highlighted, so the user can see where the demographics report is based on.

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Image 18: Neighbourhood Profile: Housing.

Image 19: Neighbourhood Profile: Neighbours

Community Profile

Next on the list of stand-‐‑out features are the Neighbourhood profiles. YP Next Home has a unique way of showing their data which is great for attracting users by using diagrams with data as is seen in image 18.

This feature also provides the user with some demographic data on the following:

• Housing: Most common homes, owners vs. renters, average cost, age of housing.

• Neighbours: Average household income, population by age, children at home, income by category, education levels.

• Commute: Common commute type, commuting by car, commuting by transit.

• Wheels: Vehicles by price class, average amount spent on vehicles, most popular car brands. • Habits: Top leisure activities, magazines read, most watched, top physical activities. • Cheers: Top beer brands, top wine types, top alcohol selections.

The most informative section of this tool for those looking at potential business locations would be the Neighbours section. Looking at income, population size, and education levels could help determine if the neighbourhood is a good fit or not.

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Image 20: YP Next Home, News and Inspiration Tab

News and Inspiration

An additional feature the YP Next Home provides is a News and Inspiration tab. This allows the user to see news articles and postings mostly relating to housing and other amenities. As seen in figure 20, there are four tabs within News and Inspiration; Trending, Advise, Inspiration, and Profiles. All which have interesting and informative articles either about housing or other interesting media.

There is also a side search feature; More News and Inspiration, figure 21. This allows the user to specify their search either by topic or by city. There is even an articles of the day section where top trending articles can be seen.

By Topic: -‐‑ Breaking news -‐‑ Celebrity news -‐‑ Condo news -‐‑ Economic analysis -‐‑ Market news -‐‑ New homes news -‐‑ Politics -‐‑ Rental news -‐‑ Resale news -‐‑ Transit -‐‑ Urban planning

By City: -‐‑ Edmonton -‐‑ London -‐‑ Montreal -‐‑ Regina -‐‑ Hamilton -‐‑ Vancouver -‐‑ Calgary -‐‑ Toronto -‐‑ Ottawa -‐‑ Winnipeg -‐‑ Victoria -‐‑ Niagara Falls -‐‑ Charlottetown -‐‑ Halifax Image 21:

Expand Search

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Altus InSite: Dynamic 3D View Webpage: https://www.altusinsite.com/

Description

Altus Insite is leading Commercial Real Estate Research system providing information to users on available spaces in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and 30 regional markets across Canada. It is not only a research base for Canada but also for business around the world looking to locate in prime Canadian locations. Altus InSite has partnered with Cube Cities to create a new presentation and analysis of information for the Commercial Real Estate Industry in Canada.

The new Dynamic 3D View they provide to users has created such a realistic view of these cities that buyers can actually visualize and see what the location and its surroundings are like.

The markets included in 3D view:

-‐‑ Toronto -‐‑ Calgary -‐‑ Vancouver -‐‑ Montreal -‐‑ Ottawa

For users to gain access to more tools they will have to subscribe to the webpage, the free option allows the user to visualize and see what properties are available – but not access more information on the property itself. Options for subscribers include; static views of properties and spaces in a certain market, snapshots of new supply, customization of presentation views to match the specific user expectations. Cube Cities has also made a recent change from Google Earth to Cesium in their 3D development.

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Image 23: Listings Distinguished by Colour


3D Models

Altus InSites’ best feature is its ability to have a realistic 3D representation of a city along with the functionality of looking for available spaces. Image 22 is a 3D representation of the City of Toronto.

This tool also includes a list of the addresses on the sidebar along with other search filters. Under 3D Available Space Listings there is the option for the user to select which district they would like to view and it takes you directly to that location. Another stand-‐‑out feature here is that it shows the user exactly which floor of the building the available listing is on and it also distinguishes the type of listing based on colour:

-‐‑ Direct Lease: o Dark Blue: Full Floor o Light Blue: Partial Floor

-‐‑ Sublet: o Dark Green: Full Floor o Light Green: Partial Floor

-‐‑ Development: o Orange: Under

Construction

Image 22: Altus InSites; 3D Representation of Toronto

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Image 25: Bird’s Eye View 3D Representation of Toronto

The user can directly click on the floor that they want to know more about, which brings up a small summary page of the listing.

This allows the user to see the actual listing available on that floor and what building it is in. The visuals are practically identical to the 3D model as seen in image 24.

The 3D view of this tool is an exceptional feature for users with the technology that we have today. This tool even allows the user to change their view completely by being able to choose the specific angles they want to view. Then can even get a bird’s eye view of the available location and its surroundings as seen in image 25.

This new Dynamic 3D View from Altus InSite is an appealing tool to showcase available properties and will attract users because of these stand-‐‑out features.

Image 24: View Listings Directly by using 3D Model

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Image 26: Niagara Site Finder; Property Search

Zoom Prospector: GIS Planning Webpage: http://www.zoomprospector.com/ ; http://www.gisplanning.com/

The GIS Planning Company has a large client base, and operates the Zoom Prospector for communities in the United States and some of Canada. GIS Planning has renovated the world of Site Finders and Site Selection. The four best webpages to look at for this tool are:

• Niagara Site Finder: http://sitefinder.niagaracanada.com/ • Opportunity Newell: http://www.navigatenewell.com/ • Great Lakes Bay Region: http://www.greatlakesbaysites.com/sites.html • Oregon Prospector: http://www.oregonprospector.com/

The main focus of Zoom Prospector is to offer details through, Demographics, Dynamic Maps, Business Data, and Comparing Communities.


Demographics; Radius Search

When looking at Niagara’s Site Finder, a lot of options are available to the user allowing them to customize their searches. Simple property searches can be done based on what business type you are and what kind of property you are looking for.

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Image 27: Demographics through Radius Search

Image 28: Demographics Report based on Radius Search

The next step is to look into the Demographics of the area. This tool allows the user to complete a report based on the Census Demographics, provided through Environics Analytics, and also allows the user to select the radius in which you want to search – in this case a distance of 5 km from the property was selected, image 27.

This creates a demographics report (Image 28) based on the distance selected. The report shows data from 2014 and prospective data for 2019. This allows users to see expected data for the future allowing them to make their decision. This feature also allows the user to save the report for later or to e-‐‑mail to their team. Being able to see this data will help users determine whether or not to locate their business there.

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Image 29: Navigate Newell Tool

Image 30: Heat Map Based on Participation Rate Image 31: Heat Maps; Demographic Options

Dynamic Maps; Heat Maps and Layers

The ability to change the dynamics of the maps can help users refine their searches in a visual manner. An option shown on Navigate Newell is Heat Maps:

In image 29 user has selected heat maps, which can be divided into three categories; Demographic Data, Consumer Expenses, or Labor Force. These categories are further divided into other areas to really narrow the users search. This allows the user to choose exactly which part of the demographic report they would like to see as a visual heat map.

Image 30 is a heat map under demographics – 2014 Labor Force Status was selected to show the employment participation rate in the area. Based on the density the user can conclude which properties are available in areas that have a high or low participation rate. Image 31 shows the various heat map options; including population, age distribution, educational attainment, and many more.

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Image 32: Layers Option

Image 33: Layers based on Local Data showing Electoral Divisions

Image 34: Participation Heat Map and Electoral Division Layer on same map

Another option on Navigate Newell is the Layers option, image 32. This allows the user to add a layer to the map to see specific boundaries or parcels of land.

In this case, the user can choose from: Local Data, Geography, or Transportation – which are all further divided into other areas.

Local Data gives the user the chance to narrow their search based on location. By showing Electoral Divisions the user can see which division the potential property is located in, as seen in image 33.

Users can also select more than one layer they want to view. This is also useful when wanting to create a visual with Heat Maps and Layers seen in image 34.

Now the user has their original heat map option with their selected layers, further developing their search and giving them the information that they need to make a decision.

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Image 35: Great Lakes Bay Prospector; Radius Business Report

Image 36: Business Type Data

Business Data; Report Features

The Great Lakes Bay prospector allows the user the ability to look at businesses around potential property locations and see what types of industries are there, as seen in image 35.

A full business report is generated based on the selected radius search, and shows all the business types in the area, seen in image 36. The information is provided by Info USA from August 2015. This report also shows estimated sales of the companies and allows the user to search within each category. The user can expand the tabs to see other businesses in the business types tab and they can click on the business for it to show up on the map, this is done through the radius search.

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Image 37: Report of Consumer Spending based on Radius of 10 miles.

Image 38: Labour Force Report

Other types of reports that can be beneficial to users include Consumer Spending and Labour Force Activity seen in image 37. These reports show 2015 data with prospective 2020 data from Applied Geographic Solutions. The user can also see infographics of community profiles.

The great feature of these reports is the visuals that they provide. This includes pie charts and graphs, also giving the user the opportunity to see the data presented in a different way. If this is something that the user finds distracting there is also the option hide them and only the data will be listed. Not only do these reports allow for the data to be presented in another way but the user can also pick out the areas of the chart they want to know more about. Image 38 was taken out of the labour force report.

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Image 40: Drive Time of 60 min. perimeter around location.

Radius and Drive Time

Another stand out feature on the Great Lakes Bay prospector is the ability to change the radius from distance to time travelled. This allows the user to see the area around the potential location by travel time it takes to get there.

Instead of typing the miles to get a radial distance, the user can type in the minutes to get a drive time distance. Image 39 demonstrates the representation; average time to get to work is 60 minutes – a useful feature for a potential business buyer. This will then generate the area below in image 40.

This generates an area around the potential location of a maximum driving time of 60 minutes. The best part about this feature is that like the radius feature – your reports will also be based off of the highlighted distance. Allowing the user to see not only the different business data available in the time selected and also labour force, demographics, and consumer reports based off of the selected area. The modification of these reports gives the user a lot of opportunity to see the different types of resources they have access to within a certain distance or travel time of their potential location. A feature like this could be the turning point for a buyer between one location and the other.

Image 39: Drive Time Feature

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Image 41: Oregon Prospector; Comparing Cities

Image 42: Comparing Communities side by side with projected analysis.

Comparing Communities and Report Generating

Creating reports based on the specific location gives the user a lot of information to make their decision on whether or not to locate in a certain area. To expand this Zoom Prospector has a tool to compare communities this is seen on the Oregon Prospector.

This allows the user to compare data on different communities and to see the stats side by side; seen in image 42. The user can select the places (or addresses) that they would like to compare. Then the tool will generate a report based on all of the information the site has.

The

demographic information shows both the 2015 and prospective 2020 data along with both cities that the user wants to compare. Allowing the user to see expected future population and statistics could also determine whether or not they will buy a location. Having this type of comparison is useful to the user.

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Image 43: Community Profile Access

Image 44: Portland, OR Inforgraphic, click on the image above or this link; Portland, OR Community Profile to see the full graphic.

Comparing cities is a great tool if a user is deciding between two specific locations. Another tool which is great is the community profiles. Image 43 is an example of Portland, OR.

The user can select the city they wish to target and see a profile of the information for the location as a whole. This provides the user with the following:

A community profile appears as an infographic image 44, with a lot of important information about the community. This is a great visual way to draw the attention of the user and also for the user to get a summary of information.

This infographic ties in data from all the different reports into one. Although this is a good summary of the location, a more proper and in depth analysis would be done by accessing the reports as they provide more in-‐‑depth data.

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Recommendations For recommendations on Phase 2 of Oakville’s Site Selection tool we can start by looking at the common findings of the webpage reviews:

• Heat Maps • Report Generating • Radius Searches

• 3D Models • Comparing Cities

All of these areas are things should be looked at to develop Phase 2 of Oakville’s Site Selection tool.

The ability for a user to select specific categories of interest allows them to customize their search and benefit more from Oakville’s site selection tool. This can be done with the ability to create heat maps based on a variety of different density aspects; population, average income, consumer spending, and labour force. Having this type of feature available is great for the user to determine where the best location is and to then look for available properties.

Demographic data is a large part of opening a business. This kind of data could be very useful to a user looking to open up a business in Oakville. A cool feature would be to show a summary chart or graph of the local demographics. This can further build report building on Oakville’s site selection tool. Being able to select or deselect specific data the user can include in their report is also a great feature allowing the user to customize their findings. Ability to share the reports via email or saving features like PDF is great to keep the information for a later purpose.

The radius search is also a really important feature. This corresponds with the drive time search as well. Doing a radius distance search from a potential location with correspondence to data is important when looking at the data and being able to determine if the area itself is a good fit. Drive time is also important to see how the area is accessible by other places, potential employees, and customers.

When looking at the webpage reviews many of the 3D models are an appealing factor to the users. If these models are also different based on the type of property available (building, office, land) the user would have a more visual basis of what they are looking at. The most appealing 3D feature would be creating a realistic view of a city will attract the user to the area, creating a more visual relationship for them to envision the location.

Comparing locations is a great feature to have on this tool so that the user can determine the pros and cons based on what they are looking for. Oakville’s site selection tool could benefit from being able to compare communities or areas in Oakville with others to help the user determine which area would be best for them. Another option is to compare BIAs or growth areas in Oakville, this would show the users the inner development and business opportunities in Oakville.

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