AI-Enabled Surveys for Housing Trajectories

Principal Investigator: Dr Matteo Zallio, University of Cambridge
Council Partner: Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service (Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council)

Preparing the annual Housing Trajectory is a statutory requirement for all English local authorities, yet the process of distributing, chasing, and analysing site-specific questionnaires sent to developers and housebuilders remains highly manual and time-consuming. This project, led by Dr Matteo Zallio at the University of Cambridge in partnership with the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service, will develop a human-in-the-loop AI-enabled workflow to automate questionnaire drafting and distribution, convert free-text responses into structured data, and provide live monitoring dashboards for planning officers. By freeing officers from repetitive administrative tasks, the project aims to deliver faster and more consistent housing delivery evidence, improve the experience for external respondents, and produce an open, reusable framework that other local authorities can adopt.