Geography Limits Canada’s Urban Network

Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt explain how Canada’s northern climate and sparse population limit the number of viable metropolitan areas.

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Episode notes

In this episode of Classonomics, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down whether creating brand-new cities can actually solve Canada’s housing affordability crisis, how our metropolitan numbers compare globally, the failed history of planned-city experiments like Ontario's Townsend and Australia's Monarto, and why central planning can't replace the organic economic realities that make cities thrive.

Chapters:

00:00 Why Doesn’t Canada Build New Cities?
01:23 Canada Is Already Creating New Cities
03:10 Why Smaller Canadian Cities Are Growing Faster
04:37 Does Canada Actually Need More Cities?
09:20 Why Canada’s New City Plans Keep Failing
14:20 Can the Free Market Create New Cities?
16:20 Why Moving People Won’t Solve the Housing Crisis

Research:

UK New towns: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_towns_in_the_United_Kingdom

Townsend:

https://haldimandpress.com/townsend-the-metropolitan-city-that-never-was/

Monarto:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarto,_South_Australia

Credits:

Mike Moffatt https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt

https://bsky.app/profile/mikepmoffatt.bsky.social

Sabrina Maddeaux https://x.com/SabrinaMaddeaux

Meredith Martin

https://twitter.com/meredithmartin