After almost 20 years and 112 editions of this magazine, Housing Technology is finally running a geospatial technology-themed event with our launch of Spatial Matters 2026 in November.
Given the fundamental importance of ‘place’ to every housing provider’s operations, assets and tenants, Housing Technology has long been bemused by the low adoption of geospatial systems by UK housing providers, all the more so since such systems are now no longer just the preserve of specialist GIS/mapping experts nor only feasible for organisations with large budgets.
Geospatial systems have so much to offer almost every single department within a typical social housing provider. Not only can they surface hidden patterns and vital correlations that are otherwise impossible to see using, say, a housing management or CRM system, modern geospatial systems also then make it easier to visualise, understand and communicate those patterns and correlations. Furthermore, today’s cloud-native GIS/mapping tools offer easy integration with housing providers’ existing datasets and are purpose-designed for non-specialist end-users.
We’re starting modestly with our first Spatial Matters event – it will be online and last for just 80 minutes. At the time of writing, we’ve already confirmed some excellent geospatial experts from Believe Housing, Karbon Homes and Orbit Group to give a few bite-size presentations (details online soon).
Some of the areas we’ll be covering at Spatial Matters 2026 will include: the importance of ‘place’ in housing operations; integrating geospatial systems with your existing housing operations; how to tap your unused reserves of spatial data; using spatial analytics to find hidden patterns & new insights; proven use-cases in social housing; measuring your RoI; tips & procurement criteria; and end-user training & encouraging spatial literacy.
We do hope you’ll join us at Spatial Matters 2026 – by combining mapping, visualisation, data management and spatial analytics with your existing business tools, geospatial tools mean less noise and more patterns.
