Unit 5 · 6 lessons
Liveable Communities
How land is used in Canadian communities and why; how nature, climate change, money, culture and politics shape planning; urban sprawl versus compact growth and the tools used to manage it; and how food, transportation and energy systems, housing, accessibility and culturally informed design make a community more or less sustainable and liveable.
- 48 practice questions
- 48 flashcards
Lessons
- 1Land Use in CommunitiesThe seven main types of land use, why each one ends up where it does in a city, town, rural area or northern community, and how the natural environment (floodplains, wetlands, permafrost, wildfire-prone forests) and a changing climate limit where and how people can safely build.8 questions
- 2Urban Growth, Sprawl and Planning ToolsHow Canadian cities grow outward (sprawl) or upward and inward (compact growth); the effects on farmland, nature, infrastructure and daily life; how Ontario's planning system works (the Planning Act, the Provincial Planning Statement, official plans and zoning); the economic, social and political forces behind land-use decisions; and tools such as the Greenbelt, intensification, transit-oriented development and missing middle housing.9 questions
- 3Sustainable Food SystemsHow food travels from farm to plate to waste; the sustainability issues along the way, including the loss of farmland to urban growth, food waste, food deserts and high food insecurity in northern communities; and strategies such as farmland protection, local food, community gardens, food rescue, Nutrition North Canada and Indigenous food sovereignty.8 questions
- 4Transportation Systems and Their SustainabilityHow people and goods move at the local, provincial, national and international scale; how walking, cycling, transit, cars and planes compare in space, emissions and cost; recent and proposed systems such as new LRT lines, GO Expansion and the Alto high-speed rail project; and how to assess options for a more sustainable future.8 questions
- 5Energy Use in Communities: Policy and ChoicesHow communities use energy for buildings, transportation and industry; how government policies (building codes, green standards, the coal phase-out, programs for heat pumps), corporate decisions and individual choices affect energy use and production; community-scale solutions such as district energy and heat pumps; and what these choices mean for the sustainability of Canadian communities.7 questions
- 6Sustainable and Culturally Informed Community DesignWhat makes a community socially, environmentally and economically sustainable; issues such as housing affordability, homelessness, accessibility and urban heat islands, and the government and community strategies that address them; green infrastructure and complete communities; and innovative, culturally informed design such as the Squamish Nation's Sen̓áḵw development, Douglas Cardinal's architecture and universal design.8 questions