Census Metropolitan Area Population 2007-2011

[espalorius]

Originally Posted by Razor

Interesting..

Okay, I mentioned this before and here are my thoughts regarding city sizes.
I think Edmonton, Calgary, and Ottawa are at that sweet spot for size, whereas they are big enough to have pro sports (just not the big 4), major concerts, festivals, shows,and restaurant choices to keep the regular person happy with "what's going on" on any given weekend they want to go out.
The commute is some what still bearable.I could be wrong,but an average city with 2 million doesn't have much more happening..Just more of the same box stores, sub-burbs,and repetition of services.Also more traffic hassles.

Having said that, I think that when a city hits the next level (Toronto, Montreal,etc.), That's when you see the differences.The "Metropolis" feel comes in, and you see more of the major sports, world class zoos,Planetariums, Formula races, world tourneys (tennis), and so on.
Also, cities this size develop more districts geared to art,recording or theatre.Sure, Ottawa has a bonafide "China town" and "Little Italy", but it doesn't have "Korean or Greek town".In Ottawa you can go to a broadway show, at say the NAC, but Toronto actually has a bonafide theatre district. At the same token cities like Chicago don't have much more going on then Toronto, even though it's significantly bigger. New York or London would be the next level up.Just my opinion. I guess what I'm saying or rationalizing is that if moving to a bigger centre for more culture, goings on etc. is the only motivating factor for me to leave Ottawa, I wouldn't aim for a Vancouver sized city (location aside)..It would be the Torontos of the world.

Your thoughts?

I respect your opinion but don't agree at all about a city of 2 million having not much more happening than a city of 1million or that the next step up from toronto is new york or london. My impression from your post is that you don't take into account the uniqueness, the identity of cities, which are, afterall, collections of people. World class facilities and cultural status are not simply bestowed upon a city as it grows larger, it takes the collective effort of countless individuals to make it happen. In that respect, no two cities are alike.
Of course you can organize cities into hierarchies based on many criteria but I don't agree that there are "torontos of the world" or that edm/cgy/ottawa can be grouped into a category based on size. I would argue those 3 are don't share much in common at all.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by vid

I grew up in a Canadian culture that drove everywhere, abused drugs and alcohol and blamed all of its problems on other people and cultures, so I'm sure you can understand my lack of sentimentality towards it.

I understand, but travel tends to give one a new appreciation for things you once took for granted. I couldn't wait to get out of Nova Scotia when I was in my 20s. I moved back to the UK, but soon after started seeing Nova Scotia in a new light.

Things I looked down upon before I saw in a far more positive light and the lifestyle I took for granted suddenly looked very appealing. I still miss Nova Scotia life even though I've been living in Toronto now for 10 years.

I wish I could mix the big city amenities of Toronto with the culture out east, but every place is a mix of things you like and things you don't. I haven't spent much time in Thunder Bay, but did like northern Ontario quite a bit. My experiences there were all positive though. I never saw any of those things you mention although I'm sure it exists.

[vid]

"Too much of a good thing". Not that racist, alcoholic family members in a city with a bad economy is a "good thing".

[someone123]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I wish I could mix the big city amenities of Toronto with the culture out east, but every place is a mix of things you like and things you don't.

Halifax is never going to have actual big city stuff, but it's interesting from an urban development perspective. I feel like, because it was so developed so early on, it has the "bones" you'd typically see in a much larger North American city (heritage landmarks, street network, public spaces). Some great neighbourhoods can at this point be constructed merely by filling in empty lots with decent buildings. Where Halifax has Agricola or the Hydrostone, the younger cities have 1950's bungalows and strip malls. In the past the old neighbourhoods were kind of run down but they are a huge potential asset and with some economic growth the city can really capitalize on them. It's amazing how even Gottingen has improved dramatically over the past few years.

The cultural aspect is much more complicated. I think "Canadian culture" is a really broad and hazy concept. In Halifax's case I just like how it's a relatively urbane, liberal town with a sense of place -- a very strong "Maritime" identity you do not find outside of the region.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by espalorius

I respect your opinion but don't agree at all about a city of 2 million having not much more happening than a city of 1million or that the next step up from toronto is new york or london. My impression from your post is that you don't take into account the uniqueness, the identity of cities, which are, afterall, collections of people. World class facilities and cultural status are not simply bestowed upon a city as it grows larger, it takes the collective effort of countless individuals to make it happen. In that respect, no two cities are alike.
Of course you can organize cities into hierarchies based on many criteria but I don't agree that there are "torontos of the world" or that edm/cgy/ottawa can be grouped into a category based on size. I would argue those 3 are don't share much in common at all.

Yes,I was generalizing.At the same time I was wrong in thinking that there are simple "levels" to cities.I guess my point was made towards number and types of services.In a way I was making a "wonder if? " type statement.For example, chances are a city of a million or 2 million will not have a bonafide theatre district or other artsy type districts.,Nor would it have a world class zoo/Planeterium..My train of thought was that you had to hit a certain plateau as a metro area before certain services naturally come into the mix..Hosting World class tournaments/events also come to mind.For example, does Edmonton have more services than say Winnipeg? or does it have more duplication of services that are in both cities?..Bear in mind that there is almost a half million difference in population..Take Calgary and Ottawa..Both very similiar sized metros..Sure, they both have something unique to offer..Calgary has the re-knowned stampede, and Ottawa a world class Blues festival..I doubt if either will have a bonafide theatre district, have daily nationally televised talk shows hosted in their cities,or host formula racing any time soon.Let alone all 3 of the 4 major sports..Neither does Vancouver which is double their respective sizes..Vancouver ,although larger than both Calgary and Ottawa, isn't considered a "metropolis", so I suspect it just has more duplication of services pre-existing in all 3 cities.. Anyways, none of this probabally makes any sense that's just where my head was at when I was putting all of this out there. Organizations kind of classified cities already anyways. Alpha,beta,omega etc

[spaceprobe]

it probably isn't as simple as city size. It is also relative size. All cities are growing, and if the larger ones stay the larger ones, they will still have most ammenities. Many of China's cities are millions in size, but people there still want to go to Beijing or Shanghai and find those cities as the "exciting" ones.

Toronto will continue to be the centre of Canadian television and media if it stays the largest city in Canada...even when Vancouver, Ottawa, or Calgary reach 5 million.

Toronto, New York, etc had their established theatre districts years ago.....many cities have reached the size they were when they established their districts, yet the theatre arena continues to focus on Toronto and New York.

As time goes on....the city size requirement before any major sports league considers a city as appropriate will continue to get larger because all cities in the country are equally growing.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by someone123

Halifax is never going to have actual big city stuff, but it's interesting from an urban development perspective. I feel like, because it was so developed so early on, it has the "bones" you'd typically see in a much larger North American city (heritage landmarks, street network, public spaces). Some great neighbourhoods can at this point be constructed merely by filling in empty lots with decent buildings. Where Halifax has Agricola or the Hydrostone, the younger cities have 1950's bungalows and strip malls. In the past the old neighbourhoods were kind of run down but they are a huge potential asset and with some economic growth the city can really capitalize on them. It's amazing how even Gottingen has improved dramatically over the past few years.

The cultural aspect is much more complicated. I think "Canadian culture" is a really broad and hazy concept. In Halifax's case I just like how it's a relatively urbane, liberal town with a sense of place -- a very strong "Maritime" identity you do not find outside of the region.

You're right about Halifax having great bones due to its early growth as a Canadian city. It was already sizable 100 years ago. The 2 suspension bridges concluding with Bedford Basin help give the place a big feeling as well. Halifax will be dynamite at 600,000. Things really seem to be changing in Halifax after so many decades of not much change.

Canadian culture? To a young boy who moved to Halifax from the UK it's always been a piece of cake figuring out what that was. Anything that wasn't British was Canadian culture. Canadian born seem to have a far harder time realizing that. They struggle with the idea that if another country (the US) also share that culture then it can't be their own. That's just hog wash. If that were true, practically no country in Europe would have a culture.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Razor

Yes,I was generalizing.At the same time I was wrong in thinking that there are simple "levels" to cities.I guess my point was made towards number and types of services.In a way I was making a "wonder if? " type statement.For example, chances are a city of a million or 2 million will not have a bonafide theatre district or other artsy type districts.,Nor would it have a world class zoo/Planeterium..My train of thought was that you had to hit a certain plateau as a metro area before certain services naturally come into the mix..Hosting World class tournaments/events also come to mind.For example, does Edmonton have more services than say Winnipeg? or does it have more duplication of services that are in both cities?..Bear in mind that there is almost a half million difference in population..Take Calgary and Ottawa..Both very similiar sized metros..Sure, they both have something unique to offer..Calgary has the re-knowned stampede, and Ottawa a world class Blues festival..I doubt if either will have a bonafide theatre district, have daily nationally televised talk shows hosted in their cities,or host formula racing any time soon.Let alone all 3 of the 4 major sports..Neither does Vancouver which is double their respective sizes..Vancouver ,although larger than both Calgary and Ottawa, isn't considered a "metropolis", so I suspect it just has more duplication of services pre-existing in all 3 cities.. Anyways, none of this probabally makes any sense that's just where my head was at when I was putting all of this out there. Organizations kind of classified cities already anyways. Alpha,beta,omega etc

I don't think you are out to lunch at all, and essentially share your views on this.