UrbanLogiq opens disaster-risk mapping tool for B.C. local governments ahead of 2027 mandate

UrbanLogiq will make its provincewide risk-mapping platform available to every municipality and regional district in B.C. in November, giving local governments a way to meet a new legal requirement that takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. The move targets a capacity gap that has left smaller communities struggling to produce the hazard, risk and vulnerability assessments the law now requires.

Why it matters: - B.C. law will require all 161 municipalities and 27 regional districts to complete and maintain hazard, risk and vulnerability assessments starting Jan. 1, 2027. - The new requirement raises the stakes for small communities that lack staff, budgets or technical capacity to produce those assessments on their own. - A missed or outdated assessment can weaken emergency planning before a disaster hits.

What happened: - UrbanLogiq said it will release access in November to every local government in British Columbia. - The Vancouver-based company has already run its model across the province. - Local governments will be able to see hazards, the people and infrastructure most exposed, and use that as the basis for an HRVA. - The platform is available to B.C. municipalities and regional districts first, with broader Canadian access to follow. - Local governments can sign up at hrva.ca to reserve access.

The details: - The Emergency and Disaster Management Act takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. - The required assessments are known as hazard, risk and vulnerability assessments, or HRVAs. - UrbanLogiq says the platform is intended to reduce the months of work, specialist input and high costs often needed to produce an HRVA. - Traditional HRVAs can require consultants, data from across government and budgets ranging from about $10,000 to more than $1 million. - The company says its model gives a village of 300 people the same risk picture as a city of a million. - Michael Lee, UrbanLogiq’s chief strategy officer and a former MLA for Vancouver-Langara, said mandatory policy still fails when communities do not have the tools to carry it out. - Mark Masongsong, UrbanLogiq’s CEO and co-founder, said the company uses AI responsibly to do the heavy lifting once for every community.

Between the lines: - The timing suggests UrbanLogiq is positioning its platform as compliance infrastructure, not just a planning tool. - The policy gap is clear: B.C. made the assessments mandatory before fully solving funding, guidance and capacity issues. - The pressure is especially sharp for smaller communities, where a planning assignment can become unworkable without outside support. - Lytton remains the cautionary example. The village was devastated by wildfire, and provincial reviewers later said its small team had been overwhelmed during recovery. - The Union of B.C. Municipalities says the main unresolved issue is a long-term funding and capacity-building framework. - The province said in May that it was still developing guidance for local governments. - Earlier this year, provincial FireSmart funding for community wildfire prevention ran dry.

What's next: - B.C. local governments can begin using UrbanLogiq’s platform when access opens in November. - Municipalities and regional districts will need to complete HRVAs before the Jan. 1, 2027 deadline. - UrbanLogiq plans to expand the offering beyond B.C. to the rest of Canada.

The bottom line: - B.C. has turned disaster-risk planning into a legal duty, and UrbanLogiq is moving to fill the capacity gap before the mandate takes effect.