The Inside and Outside Game of Growth Management: Tracking Sprawl of Canada’s Largest Metropolitan Areas

Abstract

This study explores the changes in the regional growth patterns in the nine largest Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) between 1990 and 2010. We analyzed whether the metropolitan areas matched the Inside Game (i.e., intensification) with a strong Outside Game (i.e., regional planning) of growth management as represented by physical growth patterns. Overall, Toronto, Vancouver, and London CMAs matched the Inside Game with a strong Outside Game. Conversely, the CMAs of Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg, where regional governance is fragmented or absent, exhibited signs of regional sprawl. All studied CMAs but Quebec City exhibited signs of intensification.