Geography of Canada

Urban Landscapes

Urban and Rural Landscapes

1. Population Distribution

2. Settlement Patterns

3. Urbanization

4. Urban Hierarchy

Questions…

• Where would you like to live in Canada?– Why?

• Where do most people live in Canada?– Why?

What is population density?

• # of people per square km

• Canada has one of the lowest population densities in the world (about 3.5 people per km2)– Nunavut has the lowest density (0.017)– PEI has the highest density (25.77)– The City of Toronto’s population density is almost

4,000 people/km2

Distribution Patterns• There are three main distribution patterns:

• Dispersed - (spread out) patterns that are found in areas that have a strong agricultural base, since people tend to be spread out on the farms in the region

• Concentrated - (close together) occur in areas where resources are focused in small areas

• Linear pattern - is a special kind of concentrated pattern where the most important economic reasons for settlement exist in lines

A. Dispersed population B. Concentrated C. Linear Pattern

Urban and Rural Interactions

• In most cases, people in rural areas live in a hamlet, village, or town. People in urban areas live in a suburb, city, or metropolis. These different types of places to live are known as the urban hierarchy (each one is a larger settlement going up the line than the one before it).

Urban Hierarchy

hamlet village town suburb city metropolis

Urban Hierarchy

• Why are large cities generally located far apart?

• Why are small towns generally located close together?

• German geographer Walter Christaller created the central place theory, based on the number of people needed to keep a store in business.

• The minimum number of customers is known as a threshold population.

Urbanization

– reduced need for farm labour due to farm modernization (e.g. tractors)

– improvements in mobility (better transportation systems reduces need for local stores)

– consolidation of goods & services (most things one needs has relocated to urban areas)

Urbanization

NetMigration

Rate

City Size

•Why did people leave the countryside to live in the big cities?

Types of Land Uses

• Urban Land Uses

Urbanization

• Urbanization is the movement of people UP the urban hierarchy. This has been the main migration pattern of Canadians since the creation of our country.

Year % Rural % Urban

1853 85 15

1908 50 50

2001 15 85