Spreading Out or Building Up? Urban Sprawl and Compact Growth

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 8 you met urban sprawl and intensification as trends in settlement. In Grade 9 you will assess them: measure their impacts, weigh pros and cons, and compare different kinds of urban growth.

Hook: where did the farm go?

Ask an adult who grew up in a fast-growing part of southern Ontario (like the edges of the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa or the Waterloo Region) what used to be where today's newest subdivisions are. Often the answer is: fields, orchards and woodlots. Once farmland is paved, it is very hard to get back.

Kinds of urban growth

• Urban sprawl: low density, separated uses (homes in one place, shopping in another, jobs in a third), wide roads, large parking lots, and most trips by car.
• Leapfrog development: subdivisions built some distance beyond the city edge, skipping over land. It needs long new roads and pipes to reach it.
• Ribbon (strip) development: stores, gas stations and businesses lined up along a highway leaving town.
• Compact growth: higher density, mixed uses, connected streets, transit, and neighbourhoods where many daily needs are within walking distance.
• Intensification: growing inside the existing city: infill on empty lots, redeveloping old plazas and parking lots, mid-rise buildings on main streets, and "gentle density" such as basement apartments, laneway and garden suites. Since 2022, Ontario's rules have allowed up to three residential units on most serviced residential lots.

Impacts of sprawl on the natural environment

• Loss of farmland: much of Canada's best farmland is in southern Ontario, close to growing cities. Every new low-density subdivision on a farm field removes food-producing land.
• Loss and fragmentation of habitat: wetlands, woodlots and meadows are cleared or cut into small patches by roads, which harms wildlife such as turtles, frogs and migrating animals.
• Water: more paved surfaces mean more runoff, more flooding, warmer and dirtier streams, and less water soaking in to recharge groundwater.
• Air and climate: car-dependent communities produce more greenhouse gases and air pollution from driving.

Impacts of sprawl on the built environment and people

• Infrastructure costs: spread-out homes need more kilometres of road, pipe and wire per household, which costs more to build, plow, repair and eventually replace.
• Traffic and commuting: long drives and congestion use time and money.
• Services: buses, schools and stores are harder to support at low density.
• Health and independence: less walking in daily life, and people who cannot drive depend on others.
• Benefits people value: larger homes and yards, quiet streets, and often lower prices per square metre than central areas, which is why many families choose suburbs.

Assessing compact growth

Compact growth has strong benefits: it protects farmland and nature, makes transit and walkable shops possible, and uses existing pipes and roads efficiently. But it brings challenges too:

• older pipes, schools and parks in existing neighbourhoods may need upgrades to serve more people
• taller buildings can cast shadows, add traffic on local streets and change a neighbourhood's character
• land near transit can become very expensive, and redevelopment can push out existing tenants and small businesses
• smaller units may not suit large families unless family-sized units are planned

Geographers assess growth by asking: Who benefits? Who pays? What are the short-term and long-term effects on people and the environment?