Which Is the Most Sprawling City in the World? (in the U.S. by most measures)

[ChargerCarl]

Originally Posted by SLO

Wow, the cities surrounded by mountains have the worst air pollution! Shocking!

Our worst city is on par with Brussels. Over all we do pretty well.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by PFloyd

So then, for the sake of comparing apples to apples (and considering that they are not going to change their criteria to be in line with yours), shouldn't it be better to use the full GTA numbers without suburban exclusions?

Yes but that was the point of my post in the first place. I used urban area for Toronto to show that it's not an apples to apples comparison. It also calls into question the list he posted. LA denser than NYC? That's likely not an apples to apples comparison either.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by softee

Correct. Since Toronto, Hamilton and Oshawa are all separate CMAs, Statcan counts their urban areas separately from one another even thought they have long since grown into each other and formed one contiguous urban area.

Demographia has rightly combined them into a single urban area.

Agree but have a question. When you see the urban area for Oshawa listed separately, is that for Oshawa and Whitby? Pickering and Ajax aren't included? When I looked up the info for the Toronto urban area and the Hamilton urban area I was going to do the same for Oshawa but it didn't seem to include Pickering and Ajax.

[Doady]

Originally Posted by softee

Correct. Since Toronto, Hamilton and Oshawa are all separate CMAs, Statcan counts their urban areas separately from one another even thought they have long since grown into each other and formed one contiguous urban area.

Demographia has rightly combined them into a single urban area.

The closest US equivalent to CMA is the MSA, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Since MSAs are based on upper tier municipal boundaries, Oshawa and Burlington would be part of Toronto MSA, but not Hamilton. MSA requires 25% of residents in one municipality working in another municipalities, and only 24% Hamilton residents work in Toronto. So Hamilton would be its own MSA, and thus it would be its own urban area, even by US standards.

US also has CSAs, combined statistical area, which are combinations of MSAs and micropolitan statistical areas, and has 15% requirement instead of 25%. This would mean a Toronto-Hamilton-Guelph-Barrie CSA. But they would still be considered four MSAs, at least four urban areas, not a single urban area.

[softee]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Agree but have a question. When you see the urban area for Oshawa listed separately, is that for Oshawa and Whitby? Pickering and Ajax aren't included? When I looked up the info for the Toronto urban area and the Hamilton urban area I was going to do the same for Oshawa but it didn't seem to include Pickering and Ajax.

Pickering and Ajax are included as part of the Toronto urban area. Whitby is part of Oshawa's urban area.