URBANIZATION – LOCAL,
NATIONAL, AND GLOBAL CONTEXTS
Unit 3: Human Geography
Different Kinds of Urban
Places
MANUFACTURING
CITIES
 Created as people
began to live near
factories where they
could find jobs
producing and
Sarnia, Ontario
distributing
 Late 1800s, oil processing facilities
manufactured goods.  WWII, petrochemical industry
Different Kinds of Urban
Places
TRANSPORTATION HUBS
 Cities develop because
their site and situation
provides them with
important transportation
functions
 Site: characteristics of the
land on which a city is built
 Situation: the relationship
between a city’s location
and the area surrounding it
Thunder Bay, Ontario
 Canadian Shield on a flat area
bordering the western shores of
Lake Superior
 Trade site
 Situation is good because bulk
materials (grain, potash, etc.)
can be transported from train, to
ship.
Different Kinds of Urban
Places
TOURIST CITIES
 Develop as a result of a
physical or human
feature that people are
attracted to see or
experience
 Jobs are basic jobs
because the money that
supports the local
economy comes from
outside the community
Banff, Alberta
 Area is home to hot springs,
scenery, and abundant
wildlife
 Town grew to provide
accommodation, food and
other services to tourists
Different Kinds of Urban
Places
GOVERNMENT CITIES
 Provide services to
people at a local,
regional, or national level
 Activities include
everything from garbage
collection, to healthcare,
to old-age pensions
Ottawa, Ontario
 Parliament – Federal
government
 Determines activities and
services that are required for
everyone in Canada
Different Kinds of Urban
Places
RESOURCE-BASED
COMMUNITIES
 Villages, towns, or
cities that are
established to develop
a resource
 Boom-bust economies
as resources are
exploited
Flin Flon, Manitoba
 One of the richest copper-zinc
deposits in Canada
 Established in the 1920s
Different Kinds of Urban
Places
DIVERSIFIED URBAN CENTRES
 As some cities develop they may fulfill several
functions - these are referred to as Diversified
Urban Centres
 Examples: Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver
Central Business District
 German geographer Walter Christaller in 1933
 Recognized the economic relationships
between cities and their hinterlands
 People gather together in cities to share
goods and ideas and they exist for purely
economic reasons
 “central place” exists primarily to provide
goods and services to its surrounding
population
 Distribution centre
CBD
Two assumptions:
1. Humans will always purchase goods from the
closest place that offers the good
2. Whenever demand for a certain good is high, it
will be offered in close proximity to the pop’n
 Threshold population is very important

The number of people needed for a central place
business or activity to remain active and prosperous
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Low, middle, high-order goods
Greater Golden Horseshoe
 Greater Golden
Horseshoe = area
from Niagara
through GTA to
Peterborough and
north as far as
Collingwood
 4 million more
people expected to
move here in the
next 25 years
 Creating 2 million
new jobs
Places to Grow
The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden
Horseshoe, was released on June 16, 2006.
It is a 25-year plan that aims to:
 Revitalize downtowns to become vibrant and convenient
centres.
 Create complete communities that offer more options
for living, working, learning, shopping and playing.
 Provide housing options to meet the needs of people at any
age.
 Curb sprawl and protect farmland and green spaces.
 Reduce traffic gridlock by improving access to a greater
range of transportation options.
Ontario Greenbelt
 February 2005, the Ontario
government passed a law
creating a 7200 km2 greenbelt in
southern Ontario
 Protects environmentally
sensitive land and farmland from
urban development
 Essential for providing clean air
and clean water to cities
 Trees act as “lungs” for a wide
area, and filter air pollution, while
rivers and streams are sources of
drinking water for millions of
people
The Facts
 Protects 1.8 million acres (720,000 hectares) of countryside, with
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farming being the dominant land use.
The Greenbelt extends 325 kilometers from Rice Lake in
Northumberland County to the Niagara River.
The Greenbelt’s natural heritage system protects about 535,000
acres of lakes, wetlands, river valleys and forests.
 Habitat is protected for wildlife and endangered species within a
continuous band of green countryside.
Open space is maintained for tourism, recreation and healthy living.
Over 50% of people living in central Ontario are likely to take
advantage of the tourism and recreation possibilities of the
Greenbelt.
The Niagara Escarpment’s Bruce Trail is connected with the Oak
Ridges Trail making it possible to hike from Rice Lake, South of
Peterborough, to Queenston and up to Tobermory on Georgian Bay.
The value of the Greenbelt's measurable non-market ecosystem
service is estimated to be $2.6 billion annually, which is $3,487 per
hectare.
Oak Ridges Moraine
 Created through glaciation 12,000 year ago
 Consists of a series of rolling sandy hills and
river valleys
 Sand and gravel in the moraine acts like a
giant sponge, soaking up rainwater and
snowmelt which replenishes groundwater
 Forms the headwaters of 65 river systems
that flow south into Lake Ontario and north
into Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe,
and Trent River System
Oak Ridges Moraine
 Located north of Lake Ontario stretching 160
km from the Niagara Escarpment to the Trent
River
 65% of the area of the Oak Ridges Moraine
lies within the GTA
 Rely on the moraine for drinking water,
growing and grazing land, wooded areas, and
aggregates (sand and gravel)
Trafalgar Moraine
 Rich in silt and clay
 20 km long, extending from Niagara
Escarpment into Mississauga (Streetsville)
 The origins of several creeks, including
Fourteen Mile Creek, McCraney Creek,
Sixteen Mile Creek, Munn’s Creek, Morrison
Creek , and Joshua’s Creek
Oakville Official Plan
 Livable Oakville, is the town's official plan for the
lands south of Dundas Street and north of Highway
407, was approved by the Ontario Municipal Board
(OMB) on May 10, 2011.
 The plan directs growth to identified growth areas
while protecting the town's stable residential
neighbourhoods, green spaces and employment
lands to 2031.
 Midtown Oakville, Uptown Core, Palermo, Bronte
and Kerr Villages, and Downtown are clearly
identified in the plan as growth areas.
 Planned growth in these areas will preserve, enhance and
protect the distinct character, cultural heritage, living
environment and sense of community in
Oakville's established neighbourhoods.
New Communities of Oakville
Well designed neighbourhoods, efficient use of existing
land and flexible transportation options will make
the New Communities of Oakville a more livable and
sustainable community.
 The New Communities of Oakville will feature:
 A variety of uses from residential to commercial to
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employment
A grid street network that offers more opportunity for
public transit and walkability
Green space that is protected
Off-road trail system for cyclists and pedestrians
Heritage elements
Managed water resources
Land Use and Zoning Details
 Existing Communities:
 http://www.oakville.ca/townhall/livable-oakville-
plan.html
 North Oakville East and West Secondary Plan
areas:
 http://www.oakville.ca/townhall/new-
communities-of-oakville-policy.html
Your Turn...
 Based on the information presented today and
you current knowledge of Oakville, Ontario
Greenbelt, CBDs, etc. you will be taking on the
role of various stakeholders to determine their
opinions the development plans in the future.
 Fill in the “Stakeholders Perspectives” handout.
 Be sure to rationalize your decisions with adequate
detail.
 This will be very important for next unit when we
have a formal debate!!!