Grade by Grade
A. Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability · Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability

Land Use: Issues and How People Respond

A3.3About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify the main types of land use in a community.
  • I can identify significant land-use issues, such as competition between farmland, housing, industry and natural areas.
  • I can describe how different groups, including governments, residents, environmental groups and First Nations, Métis and Inuit, respond to land-use issues.
  • I can explain why some voices are heard more than others and suggest fair criteria for land-use decisions.

Words to know

land use
How people use a piece of land: for homes, stores, factories, farms, parks, roads or nature.
residential
Land used for homes.
commercial
Land used for stores, offices and services.
industrial
Land used for factories, warehouses and other industry.
institutional
Land used for schools, hospitals, places of worship and government buildings.
zoning bylaw
A municipal rule that says what kinds of buildings and land uses are allowed in each area.
official plan
A municipality's long-term plan for how land will be used and how the community will grow.
stakeholder
A person or group affected by a decision or interested in it.
land claim
A formal claim by an Indigenous nation about land and rights, often because treaty promises were not kept or land was taken without agreement.

Let's start with a question

Imagine a large field at the edge of your town. A builder wants to put 300 new houses there. A farmer has grown corn there for 40 years. A creek runs through it into a wetland where herons nest. Families need homes they can afford. What should happen to the field?

Questions like this are land-use issues. Land is limited, and many people want to use the same piece of it in different ways.

A great blue heron standing in a wetland next to a cornfield, with houses at the far edge of the field.
Wetland, farmland and housing side by side. Who should decide what happens to land like this? AI-generated image

Types of land use

  • Residential: homes (houses, townhouses, apartments).
  • Commercial: stores, offices, restaurants, services.
  • Industrial: factories, warehouses, plants.
  • Institutional: schools, hospitals, places of worship, government buildings.
  • Transportation: roads, railways, airports, parking.
  • Parks, open space and recreation: parks, sports fields, trails.
  • Agricultural: farms and orchards.
  • Natural areas: forests, wetlands and wilderness.
  • Resource extraction: mines, quarries, gravel pits, logging areas.
farmlandhomesdowntownindustryschoolparklakepretend town of Maple Bend, schematic, not to scale
A land-use map of a pretend town. Farmland is on the edge, homes are next to downtown, industry and a school are in the middle, and a park lies along the lake. Not to scale.

Significant land-use issues

  • Competition for land. Farms, housing, industry, roads, recreation and nature all need space. Near growing cities, farmland and natural areas are often turned into subdivisions and highways, and once they are paved, they are very hard to get back.
  • Development in ecologically sensitive areas. Some land is especially important for nature: wetlands filter water and reduce flooding, and the Oak Ridges Moraine, a long ridge of sand and gravel north of Toronto, soaks up rain and feeds the groundwater and streams that many communities depend on. Ontario passed the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act in 2001 to limit building there.
  • Indigenous land rights and land claims. First Nations, Métis and Inuit have rights to land, based on their long relationships with it, on treaties with the Crown and on Canada's Constitution. Many First Nations have land claims because treaty promises were not kept or land was taken without agreement. Canadian courts have ruled that governments have a duty to consult Indigenous peoples, and in some cases accommodate them, when a decision could affect their rights.
  • Resource development and protection. For example, the Ring of Fire is an area in northern Ontario rich in minerals, within the traditional territories of several First Nations. Some First Nations support building roads and mines that could bring jobs and services to their communities. Others are concerned about the effects on their lands, waters and ways of life. First Nations want to make decisions about their own territories, and different communities have different views.
  • Where to put things nobody wants nearby, such as landfills, highways or factories, and the need for affordable housing.

Who responds, and how?

  • Municipal governments (cities, towns, townships) make official plans and zoning bylaws, hold public meetings, and approve or refuse building applications.
  • Conservation authorities in Ontario manage watersheds and regulate building near rivers, wetlands and shorelines.
  • Provincial governments set rules for land use across the province, protect areas through laws, and create provincial parks.
  • The federal government manages national parks and has responsibilities for fish habitat and for relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis.
  • First Nations governments and Indigenous organizations make land-use plans for their territories, negotiate with other governments, and go to court to protect their rights when needed.
  • Residents speak at meetings, write to councillors, sign petitions and form neighbourhood groups.
  • Environmental groups and other NGOs research, raise awareness and sometimes buy land to protect it.
  • Developers, farmers and businesses make proposals, explain their needs and sometimes change their plans after hearing concerns.

Case study: Ontario's Greenbelt

In 2005, Ontario created the Greenbelt, a large band of protected farmland, forests, wetlands and rivers around the Greater Golden Horseshoe, including the Oak Ridges Moraine. In November 2022, the province announced it would remove about 3 000 hectares (about 7 400 acres) from the Greenbelt to allow new housing. Many residents, farmers, environmental groups, municipalities and First Nations objected. Reports by Ontario's Auditor General and Integrity Commissioner in 2023 criticized how the sites had been chosen. In fall 2023 the province reversed its decision, and a new law returned the lands to the Greenbelt.

This case shows a real land-use issue (housing versus protected land) and how many groups' responses affected the outcome.

Why are some voices louder?

Groups with money, organization, time to attend meetings, knowledge of how decisions are made and access to media are often heard more. People who work long hours, don't know a meeting is happening, or don't speak the language used may be heard less. Fair processes try to reach everyone: meetings at different times, information in several languages, online comments, and meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities.

Worked example

Example: Let's analyse stakeholders

Pretend proposal: Maple Bend council is considering a plan to build 300 houses on farmland next to a wetland at the edge of town. Identify the stakeholders, their likely views and one way each could respond.

  1. Developer: supports it (profit; meeting housing demand). Could change the design to keep the wetland as a park.
  2. Young families looking for homes: many support it (need affordable housing). Could speak at the public meeting.
  3. The farmer next door and a farmers' group: may oppose it (loss of farmland; traffic on rural roads). Could present information about how much local farmland has already been lost.
  4. Environmental group: likely opposes building near the wetland (herons, water filtering, flood control). Could ask the conservation authority to review the plan.
  5. First Nation whose traditional territory includes the land: may have concerns about water, wildlife or cultural sites, and should be consulted early.
  6. Council: must weigh all views against the official plan and provincial rules, then decide.

Many stakeholders have different, reasonable views. A good decision process hears all of them and uses clear criteria, such as housing need, protecting water and farmland, cost, and Indigenous rights.

the field300 houses?Developerbuild homes, make a profitYoung familiesneed affordable homesFarmer next doorkeep the farmlandEnvironmental groupprotect wetland, heronsFirst Nationconsult early: water, sitesCouncilweighs all views, decidesthe field300 houses?pretend Maple Bend
One field, many stakeholders, each with a reasonable view. A fair process hears all of them before council decides. Pretend example.
Hands-on activity

Map the land uses on your street

You need: paper, a pencil, coloured pencils or different patterns, and a grown-up to walk with you. Stay on sidewalks and follow traffic safety.

  1. Walk around a few blocks near your home (or use a satellite view if walking isn't possible).
  2. Draw a simple map of the streets. Shade each building or lot by land use: residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, transportation, park or natural area. Make a legend.
  3. Look for one possible land-use issue: an empty lot, a "Notice of Development Application" sign, a busy road next to a park, a field for sale.
  4. Write who the stakeholders might be and what each might want.

What to look for: a correct legend, at least four land-use types, and a realistic issue with at least three stakeholders. Many Ontario municipalities post development notices on their websites, too.

Just for fun

Planners have a word for people who like a new idea but not near their own house: NIMBY ("Not In My Back Yard"). Its even sillier cousin is BANANA: "Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything." Good planning tries to find something better than both!

Your turn

1

Name five types of land use.

2

A hospital is on which type of land use?

3

What is a zoning bylaw?

4

Why is the Oak Ridges Moraine considered ecologically sensitive?

5

What did Canadian courts say governments must do when a decision might affect Indigenous rights?

6

Give two ways residents can respond to a land-use issue.

7

What happened to the lands removed from Ontario's Greenbelt in 2022?

More practice: warm-up

1

Which land use includes stores and offices?

2

Which land use includes factories and warehouses?

3

What is a stakeholder?

4

Which level of government usually makes zoning bylaws?

5

In what year did Ontario create the Greenbelt?

More practice: on your own

1

Why is it hard to turn paved land back into farmland?

2

Explain why First Nations in the Ring of Fire region have different views on development.

3

Give two reasons why some groups are heard more than others in land-use decisions.

4

Suggest two ways a council could make sure more people are heard.

5

A town wants to build a landfill. Name two stakeholders likely to have different views.

Challenge

1

Write three criteria a council could use to decide between using a field for housing, farming or a nature park. Explain why each criterion is fair.

2

Using the Greenbelt case, explain how responses from different groups can change a land-use decision.

3

A developer says, "We need housing, so we must build on farmland." Give a geographer's response that considers intensification.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which type of land use is a school?

2.

What is a zoning bylaw?

3.

Why is building on wetlands a land-use issue?

4.

Which statement about the Ring of Fire is accurate?

5.

What is the duty to consult?

6.

What happened after Ontario announced removing land from the Greenbelt in 2022?

7.

Why might some groups' voices be heard more in land-use decisions?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: A3.3 asks students to identify significant land-use issues and describe responses of various groups to these issues. The curriculum's examples include competition among agriculture, industry, housing, transportation, recreation and wilderness; Indigenous land claims; development in ecologically sensitive areas; and responses from all levels of government, residents, environmental, Indigenous and grassroots groups, and NGOs.

Common difficulties:

  • Seeing one side as "good" and the other as "bad". Most stakeholders have reasonable needs. Encourage your child to state each view fairly.
  • Treating First Nations, Métis and Inuit as one group with one opinion. Different nations and communities have different views.
  • Forgetting the process. Ask, "Who decides, and how can people be heard?"

How to help: Look on your municipality's website for a current development application or public meeting, and talk through who the stakeholders are. The Greenbelt case can lead to good dinner-table discussion; keep it focused on the land-use issue and the responses of different groups.