Toronto: Paradigm Reexamined

Abstract

There is currently a debate about the extent to which Toronto can serve as a model for transport and land-use planning policies in Australian cities. Proponents of the ‘Toronto model’ argue that the city has achieved high rates of public transport patronage through a combination of policies including the integration of transport and land-use planning. Much of the debate turns on definitional arguments about ways of measuring public transport patronage, population density and other relevant factors. This paper reviews the evidence, using consistent and rigorous definitions, and compares Toronto with Melbourne. It concludes that Toronto is indeed a model of successful public transport, with a relatively high trip-making rate that has been maintained over many decades. It also concludes, however, that this success relative to Melbourne is not explained by land-use patterns. The differences in population density and distribution between the two cities are smaller than previously thought, and the differences that do exist do not correlate with the differences in transport patterns.