Notes

^1.

For more detailed information about this methodology, contact the Information Officer (613-951-0297; environ@statcan.gc.ca), Environment Accounts and Statistics Division.

^2.

For the purposes of this research, 'unsettled' means that the area or blocks are not considered to be settlements as defined in Section 2.2 and in the methodology found in Section 4 "Methodology: processing the data."

^3.

Geographic Information Systems are computer systems that are capable of storing, analyzing and displaying geographically referenced data—data with a location identifier.

^4.

As shown in 3.2, settlements are based on a geo-statistical unit called a 'dissemination block'.

^5.

Adapted from www.eionet.europa.eu/gemet/concept?cp=4062.

^6.

All census geographies include some variation in land use. The block also includes some variation or mixed use of land; see Section 3.2 for more details.

^7.

Although commonly used to describe Canadian cities, census metropolitan area (CMA) boundaries were designed to reflect regions with a high degree of integration and were not designed to represent the nature, extent and change of the physical form of settlements in any detail. Many users will continue to use CMAs and other existing census geographies given their specific needs and the large volume of historic data available.

^8.

For information on these data sets, please visit the following internet sites: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census06/reference/dictionary/geotoc.cfm, http://www.geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/geogratis/en/product/search.do?id=8147, http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1227635802316&lang=eng, http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/data/nrn/index.html, http://article.pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/RPAS/rpv?hm=HInit&journal=cjrs&volume=31&afpf=m05-019.pdf, http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/, and http://www.google.com/enterprise/earthmaps/earth_pro.html.

^9.

Blocks vary in size. In areas with concentrations of population, blocks are small in size. Almost three in every four blocks were smaller than 1 km² in 2001.

^10.

Please refer to http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census06/reference/dictionary/geo014.cfm for examples of standard geographies and further details.

^11.

The Settlements Earth Observation Inventory (SEOI) codes (1, 2 and 3) could be used to improve this limitation. Please see section 3.3.

^12.

For more information on sampling and its impact on data quality, please visit the following location: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census06/reference/dictionary/app002.cfm.

^13.

A block-face is one side of a street between two consecutive intersections. For example, a block-face can be one side of a city block.

^14.

Geocoding is the process of converting street addresses into spatial data that can be displayed on a map.

^15.

For more information, please go to http://www.google.com/enterprise/earthmaps/earth_pro.html.

^16.

"Settled" refers to areas where humans live and work. The imagery would depict residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional areas. In the high-resolution data, for instance, houses are clearly visible in residential areas.

^17.

The seven categories consisted of the following: (i) 1,000 to 4,999, (ii) 5,000 to 9,999, (iii) 10,000 to 19,999, (iv) 20,000 to 49,999, (v) 50,000 to 99,999, (vi) 100,000 to 199,999, (vii) greater than 200,000.

^18.

The use of term 'core areas' in this research project should not be confused with the term "core" as it may be used elsewhere in Statistics Canada; for example, the term 'Urban Core', defined as a large urban area around which a CMA or a CA is delineated, may be used in context of Census of Population statistics.

^19.

'Intensity' refers to the degree of settlement activity taking place. Typically intense areas include more buildings and higher population, employment and dwelling densities. They could include areas with apartment buildings and office towers, but can also include areas with single detached dwellings where lots are small. Less intense areas include areas that are covered by fewer structures; examples include areas with single detached dwellings on larger lots or partially settled blocks.

^20.

This statistic is derived from an analysis of CSDs having a population greater than 5,000. This percentage decreases slightly for CSDs having less than 5,000 inhabitants.

^21.

The block centroid or centre of gravity is represented by a point and illustrates the centre of the block.

^22.

See the following webpage for more information http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census06/reference/dictionary/geo049a.cfm.

^23.

See the following for more information http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/ua_2k.html.

^24.

See http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/reference/dictionary/geo018a.cfm for more information.

^25.

See www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/16/15181756.doc.

^26.

The NEWRUR project was a collaborative effort between five European research centres, see for more information: http://newrur.grenoble.cemagref.fr/project/wp_1_d12.htm.

^27.

See http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/ua_2k.html.

^28.

See www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/pdfs/urban_area_defn.pdf.

^29.

A "buffer" is a zone around a block or cluster of blocks; for example, a block with a buffer of 1 km would involve a zone of 1 km around the periphery of the block boundary.

^30.

The map projection used was Albers Equal Area. This projection is well-known for ensuring the most accurate area estimates.

^31.

The hydrology incorporated was from the Statistics Canada National Geographic Database. For more information see: Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 92-160-G.

^32.

In addition to ArcGIS, this work was accomplished through the use of Microsoft Access and Structure Query Language (SQL).

^33.

Changes occurred in the block geography between 2001 and 2006. In 2001, there were a total of 478,707 blocks, compared to 478,831 blocks in 2006. The vast majority of blocks, about 80%, remained geometrically unchanged between the two periods. The Dissemination Block Correspondence File was used to match blocks from the two censuses. This file provides information on which blocks remained the same and which blocks changed. For more information about this file, please see Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 92-156-G.

^34.

The buffer was calculated outward from the boundary of the block, which serves as the mapping unit for this study. For CSDs with a population under 1,000, a buffer of 300 m was used.

^35.

Evaluations were conducted for all seven CSD categories discussed earlier. For example, a 500 m buffer had an accuracy or "fitness" of 95% in the CSDs with a population greater than 100,000, whereas a buffer of 500 m had an accuracy or "fitness" of 88% for the CSDs with a population less than 5,000 inhabitants.

^36.

The block centroid or centre of gravity is represented by a point and illustrates the centre of the block.

^37.

The assessment was limited to CSDs with a population greater than 1,000.

^38.

The rule-based selection process captured 254,769 blocks and the number of settled blocks found in the SEOI was 262,212.

^39.

Reasons for this omission include: limitations of the employment data as a result of its sampled approach; the existence of blocks that do not follow the rules created (for example, blocks may be located just outside of a buffer); and omissions due to geocoding issues (for example, large airports that cover many blocks but whose employees are assigned to one block.

^40.

Reasons for this commission include: geocoding issues; irregular/atypical settlement patterns (small unsettled blocks surrounded by settled blocks); and the presence of blocks subdivided for future development.

^41.

This figure includes adjustments made to the total area of blocks classified as settled by using the Earth Observation Inventory.