Canadian small settlements and the uptake of agricultural land, 1966?1976

Abstract

The total area of built-up land in Canada is estimated, for the first time, and divided into two categories: the extent of all large urban areas, and the extent of all small urban areas. The agricultural quality of land urbanized between 1966 and 1976 is also estimated. Contrary to expectations, this area is small compared with the entire stock of land with agricultural capability. Small settlements, however, are expanding rapidly and have relatively generous space standards. The aggregate effect of this rural urbanization on Canadian agricultural production is not currently monitored, and a redirection of policy and analytical attention towards the small settlements is suggested. The loss of good quality agricultural land to urban expansion is one of the most discussed resource issues in Canada today. Some claim that the loss of agricultural land threatens the quality of life of all Canadians, while others point out that excessive control of urban expansion can also have adverse effects on welfare. These two views are hard to reconcile, but one important step towards doing so is the monitoring of agricultural land loss so that policy-makers have the information on which to make their judgements. Un- fortunately, this information is quite inadequate in Canada today. This article addresses a part of the shortfall. Many previous studies have tended to focus on descriptions of the general effects of urbanization on agriculture, and on the proportion of good quality land that is taken up by the extension of the large urban centres (Bryant and Russwurm, 1979; Rodd, 1976; Krueger, 1959; Nowland and McKeague, 1978). The focus on large urban areas (those with a population size of 25 000 or more) is due, in large part, to the substantial amount of good quality data available on these areas (Warren and Rump, 1981; Gierman, 1977). There are about eighty of these large urban areas: one per cent of the total number of villages, towns, cities and other settlement areas in Canada (see Warren and Rump, 1981; and Hedge, 1983). Building on the established work of Warren, Rump and Gierman, this article expands the analysis, estimating the area of land devoted to urban (i.e. settlement) use between 1966 and 1976. There are two purposes for this