London: A Mixed City Which Has Served As A Regional Center For Southwestern Ontario For Over 150 Years Michael Brown 99045019 Trudi E. Bunting Geog 350 March 14, 2002 Abstract This report focuses on the historical geographic development of London Ontario, Canada, within the context of the Canadian urban system as a whole. The argument presented is that throughout London’s lifetime it has always been classified as a regional service center. It has, for the most part been considered a mixed city as it has never been functionally specialized in one specific economic area. In order to confirm this statement, a variety of topics were examined, which include overall location and setting characteristics, historical and geographical urban developments, immigration trends, and economic basis. Geographically London is located in the heart of Southwestern Ontario. Being in this central location the city has many strong transportation and communication connections which support its regional service center nature. Throughout London’s almost 200 year history, it has continually been developing its strong service sector. Immigration has been important for its growth, but not to the same extent as in other Canadian cities such as Toronto. Economically, London has presented a very diversified employment breakdown throughout its past; however, the service sector of London’s economy has been marginally greater than the service sector of the average Canadian city. This, again, demonstrates evidence of London’s regional service center nature. Many of the statistical trends suggest that London, in the future will continue to show signs of moderate growth which will parallel that of the rest of the country. One area of possible concern with respect to London’s hinterland may come from increased expansion of the hinterlands of competing mid-sized cities, such as Windsor or Kitchener, as they try to adapt to the new service economy. 1 In the continent of North America, a unique fertile land mass exist which can be found in the middle of the collection of the great lakes. This area is known as Southwestern Ontario. On a topographical map, it distinctly forms “a natural region; on the east, it is separated from the rest of the province by a sweeping arc of the Niagara Escarpment and on the south and the west, bounded by the waters” (Armstrong, 8) of Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Huron. “This triangular land mass is one of the richest and most fertile farming areas on the North American continent,” (Miller, 6) and, as a result, in the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, many settlers from Europe and the United States flocked to this countryside. As a result of increased rural population, it became apparent that this geographical region would soon need some form of urban center to act as a regional city for the surrounding countryside; hence, the city of London, Ontario, was born located at the forks of the Thames River in the geographic center of Southwestern Ontario. Today, the city of London continues to act as a regional service center for Southwestern Ontario. It provides goods and service for its own population and also provides many of the higher order goods and services needed in its surrounding hinterland. From Chatham, to Simcoe, to Wingham, and all points in between, London provides many higher order goods and services such as insurance, post-secondary education, and health care. From a broader perspective, the city of Toronto tends to dominate Canada as a regional center. Evidence of this dominance can be seen from newspaper distribution (Figure E-2), and airline passenger flows (Figure E-3) in Appendix E. Nonetheless, in both these figures it is also apparent that London serves a distinct section of Ontario as a regional center. The newspaper distribution map (Figure E-2) clearly defines a vast regional hinterland boarder around the city of London. This area of Ontario forms a relatively large percentage of the landmass of ‘Main-Street’ Canada (Figure E-5) which has a major influence on the Canadian economy and also provides Canada with some of the most fertile agricultural land in the country. Although London is dominated by Toronto on a national basis, because of the two major statements mentioned above, the concept of London as a regional center cannot be overlooked and is fundamental to the understanding of the Canadian urban system as a whole. 2 The goal of this paper is to clarify that throughout London’s lifetime it has always been classified as a regional service center. It has, for the most part, been considered a mixed city; as it has never been functionally specialized in one specific area, unlike neighbouring cities such as Windsor, Kitchener, and Hamilton, which in the past, have been predominately specialized in manufacturing. In order to confirm this statement, a variety of topics must be looked at which include overall location and setting characteristics, historical and geographical urban developments, immigration trends, and the economic basis of London, Ontario. A small section of this report will also suggest possible future trends in the above areas with respect to the city of London and the nation of Canada as a whole. Overall Location & Setting As mentioned earlier, the city of London is located at the geographic center of Southwestern Ontario; however, when considering the location of London from a world perspective, it is important to distinguish London, England, from London, Canada. London, Canada, is located in the western hemisphere, and from the perspective of North America (figure 1), it is located just east of the geographic center. The next map (figure A) goes to a larger scale, showing the location of London relative to the rest of Canada. With respect to Canada, the city of London is located in one of the most southern portions of the country and is slightly east of the geographic center of Canada. With respect to the economic center of the country (Toronto), London is located very close to the center, as it can be found along the Windsor to Quebec City corridor in Canada, otherwise known as ‘Main-Street’. Traveling west along Main-Street, Windsor is only a two hour drive to the east, and Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal are all within a driving range of two, six, and eight hours respectively traveling eastward (figure A-1, figure A- 2). Within the limits of Canada, London is “within a two hour drive of a population in excess of 5.6 million” (The 2000 London Chamber of Commerce Directory, 22). Of course the majority of the 5.6 million are found in the Toronto area, but other urban places which are included in this count are Windsor, Chatham, Sarnia, St. Thomas, Woodstock, Kitchener-Waterloo, Branford, Guelph, Cambridge, Hamilton, and St. Catherines. The census metropolitan area of London covers a large land area, which extends all the way to the north shore of Lake Erie, resulting in the encompassment of the city of 3 St. Thomas and many other small villages (Figure A-3). Unlike the situation of Kitchener-Waterloo, “St. Thomas cannot be classed as a twin city, however, because it is not contiguous with the City of London; … that is, the population of St. Thomas is considerably less than the 50,000 required by the definition to make it an adjacent city in a continuous metropolitan area” (Saunders, 65). For the purpose of this paper the focus will be primarily on the actual city of London and not the census metropolitan area. Today the city physically covers a land area of “42,300 hectares, has a maximum east- west distance of 24 km, and has a maximum north-south distance of 23 km” (London Economic Development Corporation). In order to truly understand the major advantages of London’s setting, one must disregard the American-Canadian border. When looking at the spatial location of London this way, it is apparent that “London’s strategic location between the eastern and mid-western urban regions of Canada and the United States (with over 150 million people within one day’s drive) is recognized as an excellent location for business and industry” (London, Canada Calling, 1-1). Some of the major US markets incorporated in this calculation include Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Buffalo and Boston. These 150 million people represent a large part of the North American economy, and as “trade grows with NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), London’s strategic position will become increasingly important” (London, Canada Calling, 1-1). Also, a fundamental aspect of regional service centers is the development and sustainability of a solid transportation infrastructure. When consider the major components of transportation air, rail, water, roads, and communications, the city of London shows strength in four of these five areas. With respect to air, the London International Airport provides both domestic and international flights and is located within the city limits unlike other airports, such as the one found in Halifax. For many years both passenger and freight rail service is available in London, being provided by Via Rail and Canadian National respectively. In the communications field, fiber optic service is available in parts of the city, along with scalable transmission speeds and many local call centers. Water access is disadvantage in London as the Thames River is not sufficiently deep enough for major freight travel; however, a major port facility is located only 35 kilometers to the south in Port Stanley. When considering that London is only a 4 regional service center, not a nation center such as Toronto, this aspect of access to water becomes less important for London’s local hinterland connectivity.