Urban Settlement Patterns

Canada: Past and Present Until about 1850, Canada was practically all rural There were no real cities, land had few large roads, there were no cars, and many people farmed enough to feed themselves Industries almost all involved the harvesting of resources of the land or sea People worked in farming, forestry and fishing industries

Present Day Rural Canada Gradually the family farm that was passed on from generation to generation is disappearing In place of family farms, more farms are becoming agribusinesses Agribusinesses: Operations that own and farm vast amounts of land. They process products as well. Ex. A chicken agribusiness may have high chicken barns that hold tens of thousands of birds. Not only will that company raise chickens, it may also butcher and package them, and transport them to stores

Rural-Urban Migration Many people have left the rural areas of Canada and moved to urban areas This movement of people has caused urbanization In 1867, 82% of Canadians lived in rural areas Today, more than 80% of the population lives in cities and towns

How would life would be different today? THINK-PAIR-SHARE Consider what might have happened to Canada if the percentage of people living in rural and urban areas had not changed since 1867. How would life would be different today?

Urban Settlement Urbanization - the process by which an area changes from being rural to being urban. It includes a great increase in population density and includes expansion of urban functions like manufacturing and services So why did people leave the countryside to live in the big cities?

Urban Shift: Why? Reduced need for farm labour due to farm modernization (e.g. tractors) Switch from small-scale subsistence to large-scale commercial farming Improved methods of transportation Increased vehicle ownership Expansion of highway network Consolidation of goods & services

The Growth of an Urban Place Four main factors that contribute to a city’s growth are: Manufacturing Transportation Resource Use Service Industry

The Multiplier Effect The multiplier effect: The ‘snowballing’ of economic activity. For example: A new brick factory opens and employs 100 workers. These workers and their families need housing, schools, stores, banks, restaurants, medical facilities, and other services. In order to supply these, perhaps 900 other workers and their families would come to live in the rapidly growing city. As a result 1200 people would be added to the population because of the 100 jobs opening up in the new factory.

Hierarchy of Urban Services There is a hierarchy of urban services. A small town will offer a grocery store, a post office, an elementary school. A larger town will offer shopping, a hospital, and a high school. Very large cities will offer television production, large universities, specialized hospitals, and entertainments (sports teams or opera companies)

Threshold Population Hierarchy of services exists because each service has a threshold population Threshold Population The number of people who are needed to support a given service

Different Kinds of Urban Places Diversified Urban Centre: Cities that grow as a result of more than one function For example: Grow as a result of combined factors such as manufacturing, transportation, raw materials, natural resource, service centre

Different Kinds of Urban Places Some cities, however, can depend almost entirely on only one urban function. For example: 1) Thunder Bay Transportation City 2) Sarnia A Manufacturing Centre 3) Fredericton A Service Centre 4) Port Alberni Resource-Based Community

Urban Hierarchy 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).

hamlet village town suburb city metropolis Urban Hierarchy hamlet village town suburb city metropolis

Receiving Services: Where to go? SMALL TOWN SMALL CITY LARGE CITY Get Major Brain Surgery Getting a dental check up Seeing major-league baseball Buying a daily newspaper Connecting to the Internet Going to a symphony concert Shopping at a Designer Store Attending elementary school

Counter-Urbanization Urbanization is the movement of people UP the urban hierarchy Counter-urbanization is the movement of people DOWN the urban hierarchy (metropolis→ hamlet). While our cities are still getting larger, some people are choosing to move away from cities. In general, there are now three categories of people living in rural areas. Newcomers - retain ties to urban core, younger, well educated, well off, managers/professionals Homecomers - young families returning to provide rural upbringing to children Ruralites – have never lived in an urban core

Why Counter-Urbanization? Why are people leaving the cities to live in smaller towns and villages? health issues, security, “community” “back to nature” movement (desire to live in the country) increase in telecommuting (less need to be at an office) cheaper land and house prices

Settlements in Canada Mapping Activity What general trend can you see from the map with respect to the age of a city or town and its location in Canada? What role did transportation routes play in the early settlement patterns in Canada? Find a town or city in Canada that developed close to a natural resource. 4. Find a town or city in Canada that developed into a tourism destination based on its natural resources.