Land use (lec 2) Flashcards
urban sprawl
the spreading out of a city and its suburbs over more and more rural land as the periphery of an urban area; conversion of open space into built-up, developed land over time
Characteristics of Sprawl
- high volumes of traffic; no public transit (everyone drives), scattered businesses, inadequate public transportation, pedestrian unfriendly
Sprawl in Ontario
As the current rate = an additional 260,000 acres or rural land will be urbanized by 2031 (an area double the size of Toronto), 92% of that land is Ontario’s best farm land
Golden Horseshoe growth
growing by over 115,000 people per year, in 15 years it will be the largest urban region in NA behind only NY and LA (THIRD LARGEST PLACE IN SIZE)
problems with low density?
illnesses (have to travel far to hospital), time lost in transportation, traffic accidents, noise, economic costs of climate change
urban sprawl costs
increased property taxes (due to maintenance of infrastructure), extra transportation costs (all trips require a car), time spent driving, road layout is windy
Consuming Land
Loss of land is another big cost = land is finite, we need land for more than just farms = it also preserves habitat and helps with the water systems (Absorbs rain! so we don’t have floods)
Public Health
millions of vehicles = billions of litres of gas uses, emits pollution, creating smog
How many premature deaths are in Canada?
16,000 a year
What are the air pollution costs in Ontario?
1 billion a year
Climate change
burning fossil fuels = GHG emission = permafrost thaw, accelerated costal erosion, increasing severity of storms and droughts, future impacts = if lakes didn’t freeze over there would be more evaporation and more costal erosion!
Energy
Sprawl requires abundant and cheap energy, suburbs = more expensive, energy is going up = and so is the price of this lifestyle
water quality and quantity
clearing forests and agricultural cover increases runoff, storm sewers gather oil/grease/toxic chemicals from pavement and deposits them in rivers and lakes, everythinng growing on the land acts as a filter - helps remove/spread stuff around = helping clean our water
Wildlife
expansion into woodlands and wetlands destroys habitat = this is the primary threat to woodlands and wetlands remaining near Canada’s cities, we destroy their natural habitats and kind of box animals in = in separate small sections of woodlands so thats why we have the deer problems and other animal problems!
Aesthetics and QOL
absence of ‘sense of place’, social loss, isolation, lack of connectivity, those who cannot drive = left behind, no defined character/real community
Smart Growth
an attempt to make urban development a positive force for the long-term health of the economy, society and the environment
Principles of Smart Growth
preserve green space and farm land, integrate land-use and transportation planning, make full use of existing urban land and infrastructure, mix land uses, provide a variety of transportation, compact building design, range of housing opportunities, invite walking and bicycling, communities with a strong sense of place,
Green Belt
no development in that area, its an economic cost for those living in the boundaries, they keep revising the plan
What percentage of Canada’s land has no capability for land use?
89%
what percentage of Canada’s land is considered class 1 (having no limitations for agriculture and has the highest productivity for a wide range of crops)
0.5%
What percentage of class 1 land is in Ontario?
52%
What percentage of class 1 land is converted?
18%
When did the natives settle in Ontario?
10,000 years ago
what was the population of Ontario in the 1500s?
60,000 to 117,000
Tribes in Ontario?
MANY different ones, not one homogenous group
When did the European Settlers arrive?
1500s, looking for a passage to the Orient
1600s
fur trade begins, and the French and English settlers struggled for domination: whole place is still a forest needed the natives to show them around
1759
the british vs french showdown (showdown went on for many years, British won)
1763
Treaty of Paris
1775
American revolution (america is unhappy with their relationship with England: revolution = wanted to be separate)