Settlement PatternsChapter 16

Introduction

• Canada’s population is not distributed evenly across Canada.

• Settlement patterns in Canada vary enormously – form large cities to rural areas.

Population Distribution• Pop. Distribution – the pattern of where

people live in a region or country.• Two types

– Dispersed – people are spread out, example: in an agricultural area

– Concentrated – people are close together, example: in a city

• Linear concentrated patterns exist when populations are concentrated in a line, example: along a major highway.

Population Density vs. Distribution

• Pop. Density measures how many people per square kilometer of land.

• Pop. Distribution looks at the patterns.

Same population density but different distributions

Population Density of Canada

Population Distribution of Canada

Types of Settlement Patterns

• Rural – settlement outside of cities and towns, low pop. density and dispersed distribution

• Urban – settlement in cities and towns, high pop. density and concentrated distribution

Rural Settlement• Three rural settlement patterns

– Long lots of Southern Quebec– Concession in Southern Ontario– Section system on the Prairies

• The patterns are effected by three factors– The resources found in the area– The transportation methods that were available

at the time of original settlement– The role that the government played

Long Lots of Southern Quebec• Area was settled before the development of

the railway• Transport was by mainly water• Major agricultural resources• Long thin strips of land (long lots) were

built along the St. Lawrence River since they needed access to the river for transport.

Concession System of Southern Ontario

• Major agricultural resources• Roads and later railway transportation was

available– Roads were built

on a grid system

Section System of the Southern Prairies• This area was surveyed, using the section system,

before any settlement took place• Section system

– Land was divided into blocks that were 9.6 km by 9.6 km (92 square kilometers in area)

– Each block of land was divided in to 36 sections– Each section was then divided into 4 lots called quarter

sections• Originally each land owner had one quarter

section, however in order to be successful they soon realized that they would need to acquire more land

Urban Settlement Patterns• After the Agricultural Revolution there was a

surplus of food therefore not everyone needed to farm

• Instead specialized jobs became more prevalent, example milling grain

• It made sense for job specialist to live in one area, hence a city formed

• Goods and services in the cities are traded for agricultural products from the surrounding areas– The area that a city trades with is called its hinterland

Distance Between Cities

• Determined by two factors– Population density – low density = towns that

are far apart – Transportation – if main mode of transport was

walking then towns would need to be closer together.

Services in Urban Areas

• Services = market paces, government, churches, etc.

• The minimum number of people to support an urban service is called the threshold population– Low order good or service – small threshold

pop. Example post office– High order good or service – large threshold

pop. Example university

Urban Places• While the original reason for a city was the

provision of goods and services there are other reasons for cities today

• In order to have a city there needs to be an economic base (enough $$)

• Different cities have different ways to make the money needed to support their pop.

• The industries that bring $$ into the city are called basic industries

• The industries that do not bring $$ in the cities are called non-basic industries

Multiplier Effect • The Multiplier effect states that for every

employee of a basic industry three jobs in other industries are created to support that one person.

• When you have a basic industry in a town that has 100 employees there is an actual creation of 400 jobs.

• For example the employee in the basic industry would need to buy his groceries some where, he may want to join a gym, she may want to get her hair cut, etc.

Types of Cities

• Industrial Cities - Sarnia• Transportation Hubs –Thunder Bay• Tourist Cities - Banff• Service Centers - Fredericton• Resource-based Communities – Flin Flon• Diversified Cities - Winnipeg

Global Patterns of Urbanization

• 200 years ago only 5% of the worlds population lived in Cities

• By 1900 almost 14% lived in cities• The movement of people into urban cities

is called urbanization

Urban Growth vs. Urbanization

• Urban growth measures the actual number of people living in a city as compared to the number of people that lived there before.– Winnipeg’s urban growth between 1991 and

2001 was 56,059 people• Urbanization refers to the % of a countries

population that lives in Urban areas– In 2001, 78.9% of Canada’s pop lived in Urban

areas

World Cities

                                                                                                                                                                               

                            

Problem Defining Urban between Different Countries

• Different countries use different numbers to describe their urban areas– Canada – more than 1,000 people– Italy – more than 10,000 people– Japan – more than 50,000 people

Urbanization in Canada

• In 1867 82% of Canadians lived in rural areas

• Today almost 80% of Canadian live in Urban area

• This increase is due to many factors– New farming technology – less people required– More jobs available in the manufacturing and

service industries

Mega City

• Over 10 million inhabitants• There 19 mega cities in the world today

Land Use Patterns• Almost 80% of Canadians live, work, travel, shop, and

spend leisure time in cities.• Therefore cities must have the facilities to meet these

needs.• All of the facilities fall into six categories

– Residential– Transportation– Institutional and Public Buildings– Open Space and Recreational land– Industrial– Commercial

Residential Land Use

• All the places where people live• Takes up 40% of developed land• Residential Density – affected by two

factors– The value of the land– Age of the development

Transportation Land Use

• About 1/3 of the land use in most cities is taken up by roads and highways

Commercial Land Use• About 5% of a cities land is used

for commercial activities• These activities include the buying

and selling of goods and services

Commercial Land Use• There are five main types of commercial

uses:– Local Service Centers – Convenience Stores– Neighborhood Plazas and Ribbons – Strip malls– Community Shopping Centers – Malls like ours– Regional Shopping Centers – West Edmonton

Mall– Central Business District

– Downtown

Industrial Land Use

• Most important feature• About 6% of land use in most cities• Four types of industrial land use types

– Suburban Business Parks– Suburban industrial Parks– Central Business Districts– Ribbon Industries(see fig. 17-10 p.229)

Other Land Uses

• Institutional and Public Buildings – 10% Of Land is used for schools, hospitals, government buildings and churches

• Open Space and Recreational Land – 7% of land inside cities is used for this

Factors Affecting Land Use

• Land Value• Zoning – laws that control what kind of

development can happen and where it can happen

• Technology• Climate