TOPO
Strategic Guidance for Complex Housing Challenges
We are a housing and urban strategy consultancy built on decades of experience at the forefront of housing reform.
What sets us apart is that we thread the needle others can’t: we translate human rights into practical policy, land strategies, and legal and regulatory frameworks that can actually be implemented.
The housing crisis is not a natural disaster. It is a design flaw. We help you redesign the system.
Our Services
Impact Through Action
Policy Assessment & Analysis
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We conduct rigorous evaluations of housing and urban policy landscapes, identifying gaps, scalable opportunities, and pathways for reform. Our analysis integrates economic modeling, legal frameworks, and climate considerations.
Strategy Development
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We design and implement evidence-based housing strategies for governments at all levels, from comprehensive system-wide plans to targeted homelessness response.
Creative Solutions for Housing Supply
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We identify alternatives to new construction that can deliver housing faster and more sustainably through practical approaches to scaling adaptive reuse, building conversions, and underutilized property activation.
Legal & Regulatory Review
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We assess housing and planning legislation, identify regulatory barriers, and develop recommendations grounded in best practices from multiple jurisdictions.
Research & Framework Development
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We conduct applied research and develop guidance frameworks on emerging issues, from supporting newcomer housing access to evaluating the economic and environmental impacts of different housing interventions.
Capacity Building & Training
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We design training programs that equip teams with the technical and legal tools to tackle complex housing challenges, from integrating climate resilience into planning to understanding housing economics.
Our Approach
We bring forty plus years of experience across jurisdictions and sectors. Our approach combines legal and economic analysis with current climate science and architectural practice, always testing against the realities of implementation. We don't offer one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we take time to understand specific context, constraints, and opportunities and develop guidance that reflects the realities you're navigating.
Who We Work With
Municipal & National Governments seeking to develop housing strategies, respond to encampments, or reform planning systems
International NGOs & Humanitarian Organizations working on housing, displacement, and urban development
Philanthropic Foundations & Funders looking for strategic guidance on leveraging housing investments and the climate-housing intersection
Housing Providers & Investors including private and public landlords, developers, banks, pension funds, and institutional investors seeking to align their housing portfolios with legal obligations and sustainability goals
Recent Work
Norwegian Refugee Council
We conduct rigorous evaluations of housing and urban policy landscapes, identifying gaps, scalable opportunities, and pathways for reform. Our analysis integrates economic modeling, legal frameworks, and climate considerations.
City of Halifax
Conducted comprehensive assessment of existing housing units and built environment, combining architectural evaluation with planning analysis to develop a strategy for leveraging these assets to address the housing crisis.
City of Kitchener
Developed municipal housing strategy and policy responses to homeless encampments grounded in legal obligations and planning best practices.
Mayors Migration Council
Researched and developed frameworks for municipal governments supporting newcomers' housing access in challenging markets.
DI Foundation
Conducted research on the role banks play in Canadian housing systems.
Why TOPO?
Cities are at the center of overlapping crises: housing affordability, climate change, displacement, and growing inequality. The solutions to these challenges exist, but they require bringing together expertise that often sits in separate silos: economics, architecture, urban planning, law, and climate science.
Topo Strategy exists because we believe these intersections are where the most transformative work happens.
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We founded Topo after years of working within international organizations, government agencies, and advocacy groups. We saw how difficult it can be for governments and other stakeholders to access rigorous, multidisciplinary analysis, particularly when political pressures demand quick action or when advocacy organizations feel too confrontational for partnership.
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We wanted to create a consultancy that could work constructively with decision-makers while maintaining the highest standards of evidence and technical rigor. One that could help governments navigate difficult tradeoffs without sacrificing legal obligations or economic feasibility. One that could support ambitious change while respecting the constraints of the politically possible.
Our Values
1 / Evidence Over Ideology
We follow the research and the data, even when it challenges conventional wisdom.
2 / Technical Rigor
Our analysis combines economic modeling, legal frameworks, architectural assessment, and planning expertise to deliver comprehensive guidance.
3 / Climate Integration
Housing policy that doesn't account for climate change isn't serious policy.
4 / Implementation Matters
The best policy on paper means nothing if it can't be put into practice.
5 / Humility in Practice
We don't have all the answers, and we approach every engagement as an opportunity to learn.