Research

As the Ontario housing market enters a potentially volatile phase, new research from the University of Waterloo shows how tax policy has proven ineffective in controlling prices. 

The report specifically looked at market behaviour of the nine largest Ontario population centres between 2011 and 2021 — a time of significant price increases across the province.

Daniel Henstra
> Professor, Department of Political Science
> Co-lead, Climate Risk Research Group
> Member, Waterloo Climate Institute

Climate change is such a huge issue that it can be difficult to even know where to start.

This summer’s fires, floods and heat waves have reinforced what we already know — the effects of climate change are happening now and the need for action is urgent. But what steps should be taken to mitigate and adapt are often not well understood. This is where the interactive game Illuminate can fill this knowledge gap.

When scientists unveiled humanity’s historic first image of a black hole in 2019 – depicting a dark core encircled by a fiery aura of material falling toward it – they believed even richer imagery and insights were waiting to be teased out of the data.

Simulations predicted that, hidden behind the glare of the diffuse orange glow, there should be a thin, bright ring of light created by photons flung around the back of the black hole by its intense gravity.

Tangible rewards motivate employees when they’re easy to use, pleasurable, unexpected, and distinct from salary, a new study found.

A recent survey of firms in the United States revealed that 84 per cent spent more than $90 billion annually on tangible employee rewards, such as gift cards, recreation trips and merchandise in hopes of increasing productivity.

Relying on stormwater management (SWM) ponds to restore the depleting wetlands is not sustainable and lacks the critical ecosystem services vital for biodiversity, a new study found.

With the continued losses of wetlands projected in the near future and emphasis on the underestimation of provincial wetland loss, the study captures the contributions of SWM ponds in a changing network of water bodies and the effects of land use and land cover in this change.

Many socio-demographic groups, such as those with disabilities and minority ethnic communities, are underrepresented among visitors to Protected Areas due to institutional barriers, a new study found.

Protected Areas (PA) provide many benefits to visitors, including mental and physical health and environmental knowledge. However, some of these benefits are not widely integrated into overarching management structures. In particular, social benefits are often overlooked.

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated globally on August 9th. It marks the date of the inaugural session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982. In keeping with this year’s theme, University of Waterloo historian and anthropologist Talena Atfield, answers questions about the roles of Indigenous women in preserving and transmitting traditional knowledges. Professor Atfield is a member of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation of the Six Nations of the Grand River.

Engineering researchers have some simple advice for people learning to ride hoverboards: it’s all in the ankles.

An experiment using sophisticated cameras and sensors attached to first-time riders revealed that ankle movements, not knee or hip movements, are the key to catching on to the increasingly popular devices.

Inflation in Canada is at the highest rate we've seen in decades. Jean-Paul Lam, a professor in the University of Waterloo's Department of Economics and former assistant chief economist and principal researcher at the Bank of Canada, says recent events created a perfect storm for inflation.

How is inflation measured?