1. Understanding Urban Places:
Why Cities Are Where They Are

2. Video Clip: Evolution of Cities across 10,000 Years!
What do you think is the most important historical factor for urbanization?
What is the most important modern factor?
What are some potential problems with city growth?

3. Cities: Why There?
Why do we choose to establish a community in a particular spot?
Primary Factors Access to Fresh Water and Fertile Land
Others factors were often involved as well

4. Cities: Why There?
Community had a natural harbour deep, protected bay on a large lake or ocean
Community lay along a river
Community developed along a railway
Community developed beside a major highway
Community was close to natural resources

5. Communities Across Canada
Every major city in Canada progressed through the following urban hierarchy:
HAMLET VILLAGE TOWN CITY

6. TRIVIA TIME !
Sauble Falls, Ontario has the smallest population on the official Ontario road Map. How many people live in this tiny Hamlet?

7. No…I’m not kidding. POOR GUY!
ONE!
No…I’m not kidding. POOR GUY!

9. THE HAMLET
In the early years, of Canada’s development, most people lived on farms in rural areas. Because they needed goods and services, small centres developed with a few businesses
The Hamlet The smallest type of settlement with about eight to ten buildings
Provides limited services ex. Gas Station

10. The Hamlet

11. The Disappearance of the Hamlet
Do you think any Hamlets remain in Southern Ontario? Why or Why not?
What problems might businesses in hamlets have run into as more and more families began to own cars?
Where might we find Hamlets in Canada?

12. THE VILLAGE
As more people came to settle in an area, some hamlets grew larger, with more people and more businesses
As they grew, some became villages
Typically has between 100 and 800 people
People travel to villages to buy items that they cannot find in their local hamlet
Considered rural

13. Villages in Ontario
Ontario has 11 villages that have a combined population of only 13,558
Canada’s smallest village is Thornloe with a population of 123 residents

14. The Village

15. THE TOWN If a village were to grow in size, it may become a town
Towns are communities with a population of 1,000 to 10,000 people
Most towns have a main shopping area and provide all the main goods and services their residents need

16. Ontario Town, Parry Sound Population: 6,191

17. THE CITY
A town becomes a city when it has a population of 10,000 or more people
Most Canadians live in large cities
All cities provide more goods and services than towns do

18. Receiving Services: Where to go?
HAMLET/VILLAGE
TOWN
LARGE CITY
Buy a pack of cigarettes
Attend church
Get Plastic Surgery
Buy a Book
Buy Gluten Free, Gourmet Cookies
Go to a One Direction Concert
Buy a Ferrari
Rent a Movie

19. High-Order Goods and Services
A Hamlet, Village, or Town cannot support certain services, for example, a Rolls-Royce dealership, because there aren’t enough potential customers
HIGH-ORDER GOOD A good only available in cities
A Rolls-Royce is an example of a high-order good
HIGH-ORDER SERVICE A specialized health centre, or diet/detox spa

20. Low-Order Goods and Services
A good that is sold almost everywhere
Example: Bread Bread is something most people need, so it is sold even in very small centres
A hair stylist’s shop is an example of a low-order service

21. A City’s Economic Base
Industries located in a city are important because they bring money into the city
City’s Economic Base Industries and businesses that make the community thrive
When the economic base of a city increases in size, people go there to work and the city grows even more
For example: An auto plant can bring millions of dollars into a city because its cars may be sold across the country, and even internationally

22. Changing Cities As cities age, they change:
1) Become more multicultural
2) Develop new functions
3) Grow in size

23. City Profile: Toronto Toronto means “meeting place”
Now home to over 2.5 million people
One of the safest large cities in North America
Over 21 million tourists annually
Tourism generates $5 billion in revenue annually

24. Toronto’s Changing Economic Functions: Film + Television
Toronto “plays” big cities such as New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Vienna, Warsaw & Tokyo
It is cheaper for production in Canada due to value in Canadian and US dollars and tax incentives – 20%

25. What’s Been Filmed in Toronto?
John Q
Good Will Hunting
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Don’t Say a Word
Fantastic Four
How to Lose a Guy in 10 days
Suits (TV Show)

26. Metropolis The dominant city or urban area of a country
The metropolis can dominate a country in various ways:
Where cultural decisions are made by national television networks, newspapers, and magazine publishers
Where economic decisions are made in the head office of major corporations and banks
Where political decisions are made by national and provincial governments

27. Megalopolis
Some cities grow so large that their boundaries touch the boundaries of other cities
When a number of cities grow together like this, they form a huge urban area called a megalopolis
Megalopolis: A group of cities that have expanded until they touch one another

28. Canada’s Megalopolis
Canada’s only Megalopolis is located around the western edge of Lake Ontario
It swoops around Lake Ontario from Oshawa to St. Catherines
“Golden Horseshoe”

29. Modern City Problems
As more and more people move to cities, the cities have a hard time coping because of the extra strain on city facilities
Traffic gridlock
Air pollution
Public Transit overcrowding
Higher crimes rates
Overcrowding in schools
Housing Shortages
Homelessness

30. City Problems: What to do?
You are the mayor of a Canadian City. Based on your assigned city and its major problem you must:
Summarize your city’s problem and provide specific examples
2) Explain the primary causes of the problem
3) Describe how the problem affects Canada’s natural environment
Explain how the problem affects your city’s residents
5) Recommend three steps to reduce the seriousness of the problem