Social And Economic Effects Of An Urban Region Tourism Essay
The evaluation of the attributes which connect and differentiate the cities around us, give us a better approach in learning trends relative to our human patterns of living. This essay will examine and discuss the similarities and differences among the selected cities of study, and will subsequently draw conclusions based on the facts taken from the statistics Canada website. The essay will focus on the social and economic effects of the specified urban region in relation to the Central business district (downtown Toronto), as well as combine the facts together in order to predict our future outcome in terms of urban living. Moreover, the analysis will commence with the smallest community furthest north, and end with the city core of the GTA.
Table 1: General Characteristics
Variable
Bradford
Newmarket
Aurora
Richmond Hill
Toronto
Population in 2006
24,039
74,295
47,629
162,704
2,503,281
2001 to 2006 population change (%)
8.1
12.9
18.6
23.2
0.9
Population density per square kilometer:
119.6
1,951.00
959.9
1,612.70
3,972.40
Census of Canada (2006). Community Profiles, http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Index.cfm?Lang=E
(19 Nov 2009).
Located on the northern outskirts of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), lies Bradford; a community populated by only 24,000 people. In terms of location, Bradford is roughly 70 kilometers away from downtown Toronto yet not too far from the 400 and 404 highways. As seen on the chart below, the population change from 2001 to 2006 is 8%. The communities just south of Bradford being Newmarket and Aurora hold greater population changes as they are situated closer to downtown Toronto (Central business district) and therefore have the balance between proximity to the CBD and optimal rural location. As seen on table 1, the “population change” increases steadily from Bradford to Richmond Hill, and culminates drastically at Toronto. The reason for this is the direct result of the relationship between population size and proximity to the city for the purpose of work. What can be learned from this figure are the essential characteristics which translate to the expansion of communities where the most sought after location is utterly possible. Richmond Hill being situated in the heart of the GTA between the city core, large neighboring cities: Etobicoke and Mississauga, and Newmarket in the north had the largest population increase of 23%. Moreover, although the population change is significantly less than Richmond Hill, Newmarket has the greatest density per square kilometer following Toronto. The reason for this being the clustering of commodities among the suburbs in order to accommodate the population, so the need to travel to downtown Toronto is not required. Richmond Hill on the other hand is located closer to the core and is more spread out geographically, hence the reason why commodities such as shopping malls and entertainment are scarcer, as people travel to the CBD for these purposes.
Now going back to the city of Bradford, one can notice by “table 3” below that the number of single detached houses is 75% of the overall housing breakdown. This is simply due to the fact that all other dwellings are allocated primarily for busier cities with a higher concentration of citizens and traffic. Moreover, the percentages of buildings with 5 or more stories increases
Table 3: Occupied Private Dwelling Characteristics
Variable
Bradford
Newmarket
Aurora
Richmond Hill
Toronto
Total
7,945
25,090
15,655
51,000
979,440
single detached houses
75.1%
58.8%
60.8%
63.6%
27.3%
semi-detached houses
6.4%
7.6%
8%
4.1%
7.2%
row houses
2.5%
11.8%
16.7%
13.8%
5.6%
apartments, duplex
7.7%
5.5%
3.9%
3.3%
4.4%
apartments in buildings with fewer than 5 storeys
4.3%
10.7%
6.3%
2.3%
16.6%
apartments in buildings with 5 or more storeys
3.5%
5.4%
4.1%
12.7%
38.7%
other dwelling
0.4%
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
number of owned dwellings (%)
82.9
82.5
85.8
86
54.3
number of rented dwellings (%)
17.1
17.5
14.2
14
45.6
Census of Canada (2006). Community Profiles, http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Index.cfm?Lang=E
(19 Nov 2009).
Table 4: Income and Industry
Variable
Bradford
Newmarket
Aurora
Richmond Hill
Toronto
Median income in 2005 — all census families
82,836
88,514
98,482
80,121
59,671
Agriculture and other resource-based industries(%
4.2
1.38
1.2
1.05
0.8
Construction (%)
10.6
5.49
6.5
5.6
4.8
Manufacturing (%)
17.5
14.33
12
10.6
11.7
Wholesale trade (%)
6.3
6.04
7.2
6.7
4.7
Retail trade (%)
11.3
12.72
10.6
11.6
9.1
Finance and real estate (%)
4.7
6.63
8
12
10.1
Health care and social services (%)
7.7
8.86
7.8
7.65
8.9
Educational services (%)
6.8
7.45
8.2
6.6
6.7
Business services (%)
16.4
19.57
21.6
23
25.2
Other services (%)
14.4
17.53
16.9
14.9
17.1
Census of Canada (2006). Community Profiles, http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Index.cfm?Lang=E
(19 Nov 2009).
progressively from North (Bradford) to south (Toronto), apart from Newmarket which as mentioned before seems to have a more advanced built urban environment. Apartments that have fewer than 5 stories make up 10.7% of all the housing, superseding even the most southern community of Richmond Hill. It is interesting to note also that in terms of Newmarket’s population density per square kilometer (1,951), it has developed the most as a city offering the most commodities compared to Bradford, Aurora and Richmond Hill. Compared to the other communities, retail trade having almost 13% of the workforce surpasses even the city of Toronto. As seen on table 4 below, the third highest division of industry in Newmarket is retail trade. Therefore, bearing in mind Newmarket’s distance from downtown Toronto it is clear that the combination of overall population, population density, and retail trade has made Newmarket the highest developing community in the GTA.
Now taking a look back at the community of Bradford as seen on Table 4, construction, manufacturing and agriculture-based industries are the clear assets which are the direct result of being situated in a more rural, and lesser populated setting. Thus, Bradford’s community was not developed as much as it’s neighboring communities of Newmarket and Aurora, and remained as a small “farm-town” based community over the years. From the business services perspective, the percentages increase in nearly perfect increments from Bradford to Toronto. This demonstrates how business is the highest and most essential in the CBD and gradually decreases the further north the community is situated. This is directly related to capitalization and management since the city is constantly being redeveloped in order to accommodate the growing population. Looking at business and resource-based industries in table 4 is a comprehensive method of understanding the makeup of communities. They are at complete opposite ends of the workforce and are directly correlated with the population size and density of the community. Resource-based industries develop further away from downtown Toronto with communities of smaller population size, while business services increase with the density and higher population closer to the CBD. Manufacturing and construction can also be seen to decrease moving closer to GTA’s core.
In terms of income among all census families, the two communities which are the most different are Aurora and Toronto. Aurora had a median income in 2005 of $98,482, while Toronto only summed up to $59,671. The other three communities have roughly the same median income averaging out to around $84,000. Aurora seems to be a more prestigious and secluded community between Richmond Hill and Newmarket where proximity to the city is still good for homeowners who desire a rural upper class lifestyle away from the busy city life. Toronto on the other hand has the lowest median income since the population is much greater and more diverse in terms of industry and job opportunities. Lower class families often immigrate first to the city core prior to accumulating enough capital to begin a life in the suburbs. This is the sole reason why a large city like Toronto has a relatively low median income since the average is determined among the richest and poorest citizens where the poorest always predominate. A rural city like Aurora is a perfect residential location for wealthy homeowners who want to escape the hectic city life and will give up proximity for location as in EW Burgess’s concentric zone model pictured below.
source: http://yakkersy12geo.blogspot.com/2008/09/burgess-concentric-zone-model.html (19 Nov 2009)
This model can be linked to the present overall setup of the five communities in terms of density and social class. Referring to Table 1, the density of Toronto is nearly 4,000 people per square kilometer and has the lowest median income. This translates to a majority of lower class and minority of upper class residents. As residential suburbs develop on the outskirts of the CBD, the higher class residential communities such as Aurora are pushed even further back where there is more land available to develop more expensive properties. As seen in Table 1, Aurora’s population change between 2001 and 2006 is nearing that of Richmond Hill’s even though it’s half as dense as Newmarket. This is simply because of the prime location and aspiration of homeowners to live in a non-suburbia type environment yet not too far from the city core. Furthermore, property values are lower further away from the CBD as a direct factor of longer time travelling to the CBD for work. Therefore homeowners can invest the same amount of money in a larger property in Aurora than a property in Richmond Hill if accessibility to the city core is not a major concern.
TABLE 2: Age Characteristics of the Population
Variable
Bradford
Newmarket
Aurora
Richmond Hill
Toronto
Median age of the population
36.7
37.2
37.2
37.8
38.4
Percentage of the population under 15 years of age
20.8
21.2
22.2
19.3
16.4
Percentage of the population aged 15 & over
79.2
78.8
77.8
80.7
83.6
Census of Canada (2006). Community Profiles, http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Index.cfm?Lang=E
(19 Nov 2009).
The Burgess model depicts “age” decreasing from the outskirts of the CBD into the center, although the five communities in the GTA are the complete opposite. Toronto had the highest median age of the total population as well as the highest percentage of the population aged 15 years and over. Contrary to this, the remaining four communities have a lower median age and younger overall populations. This major difference is representative of the fact that families are gradually migrating to rural areas or suburbs outside of the city, while the city core is progressively transforming into a hub of business, traffic, and commuting. It is also interesting to note that among the five communities, Toronto had the least amount of owned dwellings and the highest number of rented dwellings as seen in Table 3. This is due to the obvious high pricing of condominiums in the city as a result of the limited space available for residential space. People can be forced to live in the city for periodic work or are not financially able to buy a property. This can be also related to the size and density of the population where people are more inclined to buying a property where there is a greater tendency to remain for a longer period of time. Therefore, the percentage of single detached homes in the city core is significantly less than that of the suburbs. From table 3, one can notice the major differences of property layout.
Overall, what can be learned from this analysis are the processes which have developed in each of the communities differently, with their own unique assets. The relationship between work and home, and the urbanization among satellite cities is what distinguishes our unique future. Based on the facts of this essay, one can assimilate their personal lives with that of the specified community and therefore learn the socio-economic trends of our everyday changing lives.
