Canadian Cities and Planning: Expanding City Populations, Research Paper Example

Statement of the Problem

One of the major city planning issues that is currently being experienced by many major cities across Canada is that developers are having a difficult time accommodating the growing populations in these areas. Because there is an expanding population in these areas, developers need to decide which areas could be built on to facilitate this expansion and to create detailed plans to determine how this land can be effectively used (Simmins 1). Furthermore, developers need to gain an enhanced understanding of the use of the land that is already occupied and determine how already established structures can be modified to allow a greater number of inhabitants. In many major cities across the world, developers are reducing the size of already built apartments to create individual units for individuals and families. However, Canadian city expansion is attempting to conserve the size of units by creating construction projects in new areas which will allow the quality of the structures built to be more uniform throughout these locations.

A major issue related to city planning in urban environments is that the reduction of apartment and store front sizes is generally undesirable because it results in a decreased quality of life for the people that inhabit them. Aside from altering the lifestyle of the individuals that currently live in these communities, there is an occasional need to deconstruct buildings which further impairs the quality of life experienced by their inhabitants. While it is necessary for cities to change in order to ensure that its buildings remain structurally sound and are able to support a changing population, it is necessary to balance this process with an understanding of cultural preservation. Cities should be upgraded in a manner in which their character is not significantly altered.

Description of City Expansion

Canadian cities are constantly expanding to support new commerce and populations. Over time, greater numbers of people are moving from their suburban communities to live in the cities, which is triggering an increasing need for the continued development of these areas. As this process takes place, it is essential for urban planners to understand how the construction will impact the inhabitants of people living in surrounding areas. As a city expands past its previous limits, areas that were previously considered to be suburban will be subject to a more urban lifestyle through no choice of their own. Other major considerations that developers must make as a consequence of this understanding is what lands should be developed in addition to determining a proper timing for this construction. Furthermore, the purpose of these lands should be decided upon. For example, it is necessary to determine whether the construction is needed create homes or whether it is needed to create businesses that will support the livelihood of the people living in the area. Typically, when a greater number of residences are created in a given area, developers will need to create a proportional amount of businesses to be able to support the growing population.

Expanding cities create more intricate problems than just decisions related to what should be built, where they should be built, and why they should be built. It is necessary for developers to determine the street network of the new area in addition to how the streets will be connected to other parts of the city. It is important for these new areas to be easily accessible and integrated into already existing city life. It is essential for developers to consider the needs of the populations that will live there. For example, areas that are likely to have large populations of young families and children should have larger numbers of schools to accommodate these individuals. In addition, parks, shops, religious institutions, and public buildings should be added in a manner that is proportional to the number of inhabitants that would need them. As a consequence, developers not only need to plan an operational layout for their new community, but they also need to conduct thorough research to gain an understanding of the type of people that would live in a particular community to gain comprehension of the types of buildings they would need. Doing so correctly will increase the value of a particular location, which is often a goal of developers who wish to gain a high profit off of their construction.

Discussion of City Expansion

 It is necessary for cities to expand as a consequence of growing populations, as this type of phenomenon is what caused cities to form in the first place. A majority of individuals that live in cities do so to be closer to their places of work, and the shift from suburban to urban life will continue to grow in the future because cities are growing as business centers (Glaeser). It is expected that more jobs will shift from suburban areas to cities as a consequence. Growing technology and the shift from labor to academic jobs is the primary reason for this occurrence. As this occurs, developers will need to face the question of whether it would be more appropriate to decrease the size of existing units to accommodate this population or whether the size of the units should be conserved to favor the expansion of the city’s limits. Ultimately the ability for developers to make this decision depends on the location of the city, as it is difficult to expand areas that are surrounded in part by bodies of water. While it is possible for the area to expand in the opposite direction from the waterway, this may not always be reasonable and minimizing the unit sizes of structures that already exist in the city may be the only realistic option.

An additional important consideration among developers is the question of which communities should be conserved and which should be altered. Unfortunately, the communities that typically suffer from this type of unit reduction exist in neighborhoods in which the residents have a lower socioeconomic status. As a consequence, the poor are typically forced out of their communities and these buildings are reestablished with smaller living spaces and higher expenses. Therefore, these types of projects require both the government and the developing company to question the morality of these projects. It appears that the motivation for these projects are typically financial and there is therefore often little consideration with regards to these families when these construction projects are initiated. As a consequence, the need for cities to expand often results in a cultural shift in which it is only the wealthy who are able to afford a reasonable lifestyle within its limits and the poor are forced to relocate elsewhere.

Conclusion

The expansion of Canadian cities is an inevitable consequence due to the increasing shift of people moving from suburban areas to these locations. Young people are abandoning the idea of having a home in the suburbs are dream of a fast paced city life. Furthermore, greater numbers of people are moving to the cities because their work is closer which makes their commutes more manageable (Bagley 279). Ultimately, this shift means that developers have needed to find new ways to accommodate these constantly growing populations. They are faced with either expanding city limits or minimizing the size of the units that currently exist within the city to accommodate the shifting population. It is necessary to consider that the motivation for this decision is based primarily on the profits that could be made from either option. New construction projects can be expensive, which may lead to the need to perform construction on already existing structures in the city. On the other hand, the desire to preserve certain communities based on historical or cultural significance could lead to the decision to expand the city’s limits instead of altering already existing neighborhoods.

It is necessary to consider that these construction decisions are more likely to be detrimental to those living in impoverished neighborhoods because a primary goal of many developers is to build up already existing areas and to sell apartments for higher prices. As a consequence, low income neighborhoods begin to rise in price and are no longer affordable to many of the people that live there. Unfortunately, it is challenging to create a perfect balance between affordability and cultural conservation and many developers continue to struggle with this problem.

Works Cited

Bagley, M.N. and Mokhtarian, P.L. The impact of residential neighborhood type on travel behavior: A structural equations modeling approach. Annals of Regional Science 36.2(2002): 279

Glaeser, Edward. Job Sprawl: Employment Location in U.S. Metropolitan Areas. Washington   DC: Brookings Institution, Metropolitan Policy Program, 2001.           <http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2001/07/employment-glaeser>

Simmins G. Urban and Regional Planning. 4 March 2015. 30 March 2015. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/urban-and-regional-planning/>