OTTAWA - GROWTH - EXPANSION - DEVELOPMENT...

Ottawa

vul·ner·a·ble [vuhl-ner-uh-buhl] adjective

1.capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, as by a weapon: a vul-nerable part of the body.

2.open to moral attack, criticism, temp-tation, etc.: an argument vulnerable to refutation; He is vulnerable to bribery.

3.(of a place) open to assault; difficult to defend: a vulnerable bridge.

As the population contuinues to grow the dense core begins to ex-pand outward. The development of residential housing required to meet the needs of the growing pop-ulation consumes more and more of the land as time passes. Less land becomes available for the growth/production of food to support the continuously growing community.

LAND DIVISION - POPULATION GROWTH

TYPES OF DWELLINGS

In terms of the types of dwell-ings, the projection had forecast that 44% of the new homes built between 2001 and 2006 would be single-detached, 44% would be ground-oriented multiples (mostly townhouses, and semi-detached) and 12% would be apartments. Actual permit data shows that there were signifi-cantly more apartments (23%) than expected, and fewer singles (41%) and multiples (36%)

SINGLES

MULTIPLES

APARTMENTS

DISTRIBUTION OF DWELLINGS

In general, these observations reveal the increasing diversity of Ottawa’s subur-ban communities. The suburbs in general are no longer the sole preserve of tradi-tional families with children; more and more they are inhabited by single people or couples without children, either younger professionals or empty nesters and retirees who may have lived in those communities for a long time and wish to age in place.

On the other hand, it is interesting to observe that mature suburban sub-areas like Alta Vista and gentrifying urban neighbourhoods like Ottawa West experienced population growth beyond the projection, but household growth below the pro-jection. In both cases, this indicates that there are more people moving into the area’s housing than anticipated. Alta Vista has a diverse housing stock with many affordable options that are attracting a large number of immigrants, who tend to have larger households. In Ottawa West, besides the condo boom along the West Wellington-Richmond Mainstreet and whose purchasers tend to be empty-nesters and retirees, the older residential neighbourhoods are being repopulated by fami-lies wishing to raise children in an urban environment.

Although housing types respond to the cyclical ebbs and flows of housing afford-ability and the health of the metropolitan economy, the data also shows a series of larger trends. First, the return-to-downtown trend has gathered significant mo-mentum. Second, the suburbs are home to a much more diverse population than might be expected. Third, the mature urban areas inside the Greenbelt, which are now considered much closer to the city centre than 20 years ago, are evolving and are exhibiting more urban types of housing.

EXPANSION - OTTAWA’S GREENBELT

The National Capital Greenbelt, with a total area of 207.7 km2, provides a separation between the urban area inside of it and the suburban area beyond it. While Greenbelt lands are generally seen as areas dedicated to the natural environment and more related to rural areas, the Greenbelt accommodates a wide diversity of land uses. Natural landscape features, including forest, open spaces and wetlands cover about 57% of the area. An additional 24% of the land is in agricultural production. Other activities on the remaining 20% of land within the Greenbelt include public and private sector offices, research facilities, as well as the Nepean Sportsplex, the Queensway-Carleton Hospital and the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. The Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport is also located in the Greenbelt.

POPULATION GROWTH URBAN LAND USEThe city’s urban area is desig-nated in the Official Plan and in-cludes lands between Stittsville and Kanata that were added by the Ontario Municipal Board in 2005. The total urban area of 352.7 km2 is almost evenly divid-ed between inside the Greenbelt (184.5 km2 or 52% of the total) and outside the Greenbelt (168.2 km2 or 48%)

Top land use: Our homes

Second highest land use: Vacant land for future growth

Third highest user of land: Roads

Fourth top land use: Parks and green space

VULNERABILITY - DEVELOPMENT

What could result from this continuous development...

Increasing density of Ottawa suburban communities - More suburban residential dwellings consist of singles or couples rather than families with small children... Already existing mature suburban communities - There are more people moving into the areas exist-ing housing than there are houses that are being built...population of these areas are growing faster than the development of residences. This is possibly due to immigtation of larger families.

The lack of the single family home in the core downtown - Less land space encourages verticle growth... The single family home is becoming less popular in the core.

A growing population requires more food - As the core continues to become more dense, housing types are pushed outwards. Less land becomes available for the growth/production of food...how-ever, a growing populaiton requires a growing food source, which there is becoming less land for due to development - CONTINUOUS CYCLE