How continuously built up is the Golden Horseshoe region?

[N90]

I recently was in an argument with someone else on another forum who implied the continuously built up population of the Golden Horseshoe was only 6.5 million to 7 million max.

I did the work and removed detached areas like Barrie, Waterloo, and Guelph and got an all around population of 8 million - 8.2 million.

What's the population of this region when only factoring in built area? As in continuous urbanization without any breaks or detachment.

[MonkeyRonin]

The continuously built up area has 6,139,000 people in 2,286 sqkm.

The total Golden Horseshoe including its separate urban areas and rural areas has 8,759,312 people in 31,561 sqkm.

[hudkina]

Really all you need to do is add together the Toronto, Oshawa, and Hamilton urban populations to find the continuous built up area. All the other urban areas are non-contiguous.

[softee]

Yep, although the 6,139,000 figure is two years old now, it's probably more like 6.3-6.4 million now. If you include the entire CMA's of Toronto, Hamilton and Oshawa and not just the urbanized portions, then you would end up with a higher number. If the Niagara Region was included it would bump it up further, but there is a break in development between Hamilton and Niagara.

[dc_denizen]

If we are talking, "continuously built up", shouldn't the urban area be most appropriate?

The Toronto urban area/population centre is 700 square miles, with 5.1 mm people. The boundaries are defined at less than 400 ppl/square kilometer, if I remember correctly. This cut-off is pretty rural, or the most exurban possible.

Any definition of "continuously built up" that leaps across regions with less than 400 ppl/sq km is not very credible.

[Nouvellecosse]

But remember, Toronto's urban area would not include the urban areas of other CMAs like Hamilton or Oshawa. That doesn't mean they aren't continuously built up urban areas. So in a region that contains multiple adjacent urban areas, just going by the urban area of the largest one wouldn't be accurate.

[Doady]

The Hamilton, Toronto, Oshawa urban areas combined definitely have more than 6 million people.

See for yourself:
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recen...&SR=1&S=11&O=A

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

If we are talking, "continuously built up", shouldn't the urban area be most appropriate?

The Toronto urban area/population centre is 700 square miles, with 5.1 mm people. The boundaries are defined at less than 400 ppl/square kilometer, if I remember correctly. This cut-off is pretty rural, or the most exurban possible.

Any definition of "continuously built up" that leaps across regions with less than 400 ppl/sq km is not very credible.

Urban areas (or rather, "population centers" now) as defined by Statistics Canada cannot spread outside of CMA boundaries (which are defined by municipal commuting patterns rather than built area). So this for example, would be considered two separate urban urban areas because these are two parts of two separate CMAs - despite clearly being continuously built-up:

[Doady]

Everything in that pic is in Toronto CMA.

Burlington/Oakville boundary is along Burloak Rd (Burl + Oak, get it?)

[softee]

^ In any case, Burlington and Oakville are contiguous despite being in separate CMA's and separate "urban areas".

[tablemtn]

I'd say that "Toronto" extends from Courtice Road (east of Oshawa on exit 425 of the 401) to the Fruitland exit on the QEW in Hamilton. So, about 140km and 6.7 million people from tip to tail.

[Dr Nevergold]

Originally Posted by N90

I recently was in an argument with someone else on another forum who implied the continuously built up population of the Golden Horseshoe was only 6.5 million to 7 million max.

I did the work and removed detached areas like Barrie, Waterloo, and Guelph and got an all around population of 8 million - 8.2 million.

What's the population of this region when only factoring in built area? As in continuous urbanization without any breaks or detachment.

Its hard to compare cities since so many nations define things differently. Berlin seems smaller than it is on paper for example, not sure what kind of standards they use in Germany.

If we're talking about just the immediate contiguous urban area, I'd say Toronto has around 7 million people. If we're talking about a consolidated metropolitan area, Toronto has around the 8.5 million mark due to the addition of regional cities that are part of the Toronto market but not included in the metro area.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Urban areas (or rather, "population centers" now) as defined by Statistics Canada cannot spread outside of CMA boundaries (which are defined by municipal commuting patterns rather than built area). So this for example, would be considered two separate urban urban areas because these are two parts of two separate CMAs - despite clearly being continuously built-up:

that's bronte village. All Oakville.

[isaidso]

Adding the CMAs of Oshawa, Toronto, and Hamilton gets you a very accurate number:

Oshawa: 375,600
Toronto: 5,941,500
Hamilton: 756,600

Continuously Built Up Area: 7,073,700

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tabl...emo05a-eng.htm

[easy as pie]

not to troll, but since when is hamilton, waterloo and the toronto area called "the golden horseshoe"?

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by easy as pie

not to troll, but since when is hamilton, waterloo and the toronto area called "the golden horseshoe"?

It isn't. Hamilton, Toronto and Niagara is the Golden Horseshoe. Still, I would say Oshawa has a division between it and Toronto, though not a vey big one.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by easy as pie

not to troll, but since when is hamilton, waterloo and the toronto area called "the golden horseshoe"?

Since 1954.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Since 1954.

Correct, it was coined by Westinghouse president in a speech to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, on January 12, 1954:

Hamilton in 50 years will be the forward cleat in a 'golden horseshoe' of industrial development from Oshawa to the Niagara River...150 miles long and 50 miles (80 km) wide...It will run from Niagara Falls on the south to about Oshawa on the north and take in numerous cities and towns already there, including Hamilton and Toronto.

[Doady]

Actually, Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge-Guelph is part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe, but not the Golden Horseshoe.

[LeeWilson]

I've always hated the name "Golden Horseshoe" but it will never go away.