Toronto Transportation

Research Paper # 100428

Canadian Studies > Economics and Finance
Canadian Studies > Misc.
Environmental Studies > Urban Issues

This paper discusses the issue of public transport in Toronto and compares what Toronto is doing versus what it should be doing in this regard.

3,113 words () | 14 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that transportation woes are a problem that every city must confront at some point. With this in mind, the writer looks at the phenomenon of spatial mismatch and explores to what extent Toronto's poorest residents are concentrated in one place, while the job opportunities are concentrated elsewhere. The paper then examines how public transport in Toronto is letting those residents down as they seek employment opportunities. The paper analyzes studies which explore spatial mismatch in large urban centers and offers a critical analysis of one such source in particular by Karen Chapple. The paper also assesses what the study means for transportation geography/planning in Canada's largest city. In addition, the paper compares what Toronto appears to be presently doing - or is looking at doing in the near future - vis-a-vis transportation geography planning and what it should be doing. In the end, the paper concludes that Toronto should be devoting less time to a proposed Spadina Subway expansion and more time to a complex network of bus rapid transit (BRTs) and light rail transist (LRTs) systems that will actually cost less money in the long run.

Outline:
Introduction
A Review of the Karen Chapple Article
Implications of Her Article for Toronto
What Toronto is Doing Versus What it Should Be Doing
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The implications of the Chapple article for Canada's largest metropolitan center should be fairly obvious - even if this paper is more generally concerned with the geographical mismatch between jobs and poor job-seekers than is Karen Chapple. To start with, it is duly noted by Jean-Paul Rodrigue in his online text, The Geography of Transport Systems, that mobility is a reliable predictor of economic development. In other words, (urban) economies which develop a diversified and prosperous business and professional climate do so because human resources are readily connected to employment opportunities; at the same time, transportation networks link together all of the various aspects of production. Again, where there is mismatch there will be economic dysfunction and bridging the gap between the job-giving and the job-seeking will help cities like Toronto ameliorate their social ills."

Sample of Sources Used:

Bow, James. "The Millennium and the GTA's Next Transportation Push." Transit Toronto. 10 Nov. 2006. Transit Toronto. 18 Nov. 2006 <http://transit.toronto.on.ca/spare/0207.shtml>
Chapple, Karen. "Overcoming Mismatch: Beyond Dispersal, Mobility and Development Strategies." Journal of the American Planning Association, 72.3 (2006): 322-336.
City of Toronto, Urban Development Services. "A Transportation Vision for the City of Toronto Official Plan." Transportation Planning. 2000. City of Toronto. 18 Nov. 2006 <http://www.toronto.ca/torontoplan/trans_vision_summary.pdf>
Farley, Reynolds, Harold Schuman, Suzanne Bianchi, Diane Colasanto, and Shirley Hatchett. "'Chocolate City, Vanilla Suburbs': Will the Trend towards Racially Separate Communities Continue?" Social Science Research, 7.4 (1998): 319-344.
Fong, Eric. "Is Toronto Growing More Divided?" Toronto Star 28 Oct. 2005: B04.