Urbanization and Urban Sprawl Investigation

Part A) – Urban Growth and Urbanization

Make sure you are comfortable using the terms urban and rural.

Ever since European settlers moved to Canada, the country has slowly been becoming urbanized:

Year / % of Population Living in Rural Areas / % of Population Living in Urban Areas
1853 / 85 / 15
1908 / 50 / 50
2001 / 15 / 85
  1. Based on what the above table tells us, create a definition for the term urbanization. After you come up with a definition, check with a partner or the textbook’s index to make sure you are on the right track.
  1. What are some of the reasons for people to move from rural areas to urban areas? (Make sure you mention the role of jobs and changing economies!)
  1. Counter-urbanization (the movement away from urban areas into rural ones) occurs as well, although it occurs less frequently than urbanization. Why might someone choose to move to a rural area?

Part B) – Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl is a term you’ll hear a lot about when talking about how communities are designed. But whatdoes it mean?

  1. Using Google Images, look up “urban sprawl”. Based on what you see, come up with a definition for the term (and you must use the word density in your definition).
  2. Urban sprawl is…
  1. How is urban sprawl different from non-sprawling urban areas, such as the central core of downtown Toronto (where all the high-rise buildings are)?
  1. Without researching any further, come up with as many negative impacts or urban sprawl as you can.
  1. Despite its negative impacts, why do you think urban sprawl occurs? What are the advantages for the people living in sprawling suburbs, and the businesses located there?

Let’s take a look at urban sprawl in Toronto as compared to two international cities: Atlanta, Georgia in the United States and London, England.

Copy and paste the following URL into a web browser

  1. Describe the differences between the physical area size of the three cities and their populations. Which city shows the most evidence of urban sprawl? Which city shows the least amount of urban sprawl?
  1. Using Google Earth, take a look at the Forest Hill neighbourhood of Toronto and compare it to the Regent Park neighbourhood. How do the housing densities compare? Which neighbourhood do you think is more environmentally sustainable? Explain your answer?