Urbanization

Overview
Just like today, centuries ago some people farmed and others lived in towns. Towns developed based on the needs of the people in the area. Canada's distribution of towns and cities is based on the geographical location, the availability of resources, and transportation routes. In this activity the student will identify and explain the regional patterns of urbanization across Canada. Lesson Just like today, centuries ago some people farmed and others lived in towns. Towns developed based on the needs of the people in the area. Perhaps people concentrated in a central location for reasons like transportation, resources, or the trading of goods.

The Urban Hierarchy
Urban centers are ranked according to size. The smallest is a hamlet, which is about 8 to 10 buildings. A village has from 200 to 800 people living in it. For an urban center to be a town, it would have from about 1000 to 10,000 people living in it. A city has over 10,000 people in it One huge urban area of several cities grown together is called a megalopolis. There is only one megalopolis in Canada, which is Toronto and the surrounding cities. When there is no rural area between cities and the neighboring communities, it is called a Census Metropolitan Area, or CMA. An example of a CMA is Ottawa and the cities, towns, and villages surrounding it.

Low Order and High Order Goods
Cities are sometimes the only places you can buy high-order goods. For example, fewer people living in rural settings own computers. Low order goods can be bought anywhere. Bread and milk are good examples of low-order goods. A hamlet with one store, one church, and a few houses will almost certainly sell low-order goods like bread, milk, soft drinks, and potato chips.

The Difference Between Rural and Urban
Hamlets and villages have a population of under 1,000 people, so they are considered rural. They have low-order goods available for sale. Low-order goods are usually sold at low prices. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Towns and cities have over 1,000 people, and they are considered urban. They also have low-order goods available. Large urban centers like cities are the only places likely to have high-order goods available for sale. High price tag items like cars are examples of high-order goods. As always, there are exceptions to this definition.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Urbanization
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The movement of people from rural to urban settings is called urbanization. Urbanization has changed Canada, since over two-thirds of the Canadian population lives in urban Canada. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Why are people pulled to the cities? Some reasons include:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">more opportunity and variety jobs in the city
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">more cultural events, culture, and more services available in larger urban areas such as
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">shopping, medical, and educational services.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Why would people immigrating to Canada move to the city? There are several pull factors that make cities attractive to an immigrant: <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">cultural diversity: big cities may seem more desirable, with many ethnic groups already living there. jobs: more jobs are available in large urban centers. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">language: many languages are spoken in cities and immigrants are likely to feel more comfortable with others who speak the same language. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">relatives: immigrants prefer to be near relatives who have already come to Canada, and most of the population lives in cities.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">There are a variety of services available in larger urban areas that may not be available in smaller urban areas or rural areas. There are also more recreational activities, like going to the movies or skateboarding. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Rural Canada offers many different attractions: activities like fairs, a close-knit community atmosphere, and peaceful solitude. Which type of community would you prefer to live in? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Population Densities <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">There are over 31 million people living in Canada now. Do they live spread out evenly across Canada? No, many more people are concentrated in cities than in rural areas. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> When geographers compare the population density of one area to another, they use average densities. To get the average population density of Canada, you divide the number of people (31 000 000) by the area of Canada (10 000 000 square kilometers). The population density of Canada is 3.1 people per square kilometer.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Assignment
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1. Match the word with the appropriate definition: <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">urban <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">urban hierarchy <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">hamlet <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">village <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">town <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">city <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">megalopolis <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">urbanization migrated
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">rural

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> culture

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> pull factors immigrant

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> ethnic group

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> high order goods low-order good population density || <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-a pastoral or agricultural area that does not include settlements of 1000 people or more <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-areas, including cities or towns, that have more than 1000 people <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-the smallest kind of settlement, with about eight to ten buildings <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-a small settlement of about 200 to 800 people. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-a ranking of communities by size, from the smallest (a hamlet) to the largest (a city) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-a community of more than 1000 people and less than 10 000 -an urban center with 10 000 or more people <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-an urban area of over 100 000 people, including all villages, towns, and smaller cities near a major urban center, with no rural area between them <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-the process by which an area becomes urban <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-to move from one country or region and settle in another <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-a group of cities that have expanded until they touch each other <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-the beliefs, traditions, attitudes, and way of life shared by a people, OR the arts, entertainment and media <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-people sharing social or cultural identity based on particular languages, homelands, religions, and/or sets of customs <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-a person who comes to a new country to live there permanently <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-factors that attract, or pull, immigrants to move to a country or region <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-a product sold almost anywhere <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-high priced products or services that are purchased infrequently, usually found in large urban centers, like cities <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">-the area of a nation in square kilometers, divided by the total population || <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2. Give three reasons why people would move to a city.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Why are hamlets and villages considered rural and towns and cities considered urban?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">In a megalopolis, several cities have grown together to form one huge urban area. Where has this happened in Canada?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The population density of Canada is 3.1 people per square kilometer. How is the population density calculated?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">3. Sort the following into high order and low order products and goods: <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Piano <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">batteries <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> bread <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> laptop <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> computer <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> puzzle <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> books <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Nike shoes <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> ballet tickets <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">milk <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Jacuzzi <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> medical specialist <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">