TORONTO, Jan. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian cities—including Toronto and Vancouver, which are experiencing an affordability crunch—can accommodate much more housing supply as they have much lower population densities than other major urban centres around the world, finds a new study by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Compared to their international peers, Canadian cities have much lower levels of density, and thus an ability to expand the supply of housing,” said Josef Filipowicz, senior policy analyst with the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Municipal Studies and author of Room To Grow: Comparing Urban Density in Canada and Abroad.
The study, which compares population densities in 30 metropolitan centres in high-income developed countries, finds that Canadian cities are among the least-dense.
Even Vancouver—Canada’s densest major city with 5,493 people per square kilometre—ranks 13th out of 30, and is significantly less dense than San Francisco (7,171 people per square kilometre), a comparable west coast city.
In Toronto, there are 4,457 people per square kilometre. In fact, Toronto’s population could triple and the city would still barely have the density of Brooklyn (14,541).
And crucially, Toronto’s population density is less than many other American cities including Philadelphia (4,512), Chicago (4,594) and Boston (5,376). And international centres such as London (11,054) and Paris (21,067).
“Canadian cities can become significantly more dense, and possibly more affordable, without sacrificing living standards,” Filipowicz said.
“Some of the most desirable, liveable cities in the world have much higher population densities than Canada’s biggest cities.”
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Josef Filipowicz, Senior Policy Analyst, Centre for Municipal Studies
Fraser Institute
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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org