GG272 Geography: Map Progression Analysis of Canada & Toronto

This assignment presents a geographical analysis using a map progression, starting with a world map and narrowing down to a specific location in Toronto, Canada. The study progresses through maps of the world, Canada, Toronto, and finally, Don Valley Village, including the CF Fairview mall. The assignment demonstrates an understanding of geographic context, demographics, and the use of map design principles such as visual hierarchy and contrast. The analysis explores the population distribution, economic activities, and the significance of the chosen locations. The assignment utilizes the UCS coordinate system for map orientation and provides a comprehensive overview of the selected areas' geographic and demographic features. The progression showcases the relationship between the global view and the local study area.

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GEOGRAPHY GG272
Student’s Name
Course
Professor
University
City
Date

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Contents
Summary..........................................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Country, City, and Location..........................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
Reference List..................................................................................................................................6

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Summary
In this assignment, a set of four maps has been developed as a progression of maps
starting with the world map, narrowing down to a specific country, city and a localized area of
study. The main aim is to show the geographic and demographics of the selected areas.
Introduction
Understanding a specific location on the globe calls for a wide understanding of its
surroundings. This will be evidenced in this assignment where a specific location will be
identified having being narrowed from the globe, country, city, and finally the location itself.
Country, City, and Location
The country chosen for this assignment is Canada which is located in the North of the
United States of America. This county is large in size, approximately nine million square meters
with a population of approximately 38 million (Duff and Ava 2017). Half of the country's
population resides in the southern part of the county surrounding its capital City, Toronto. The
city of interest in this assignment in Toronto, which is the capital of Canada. This city is
considered to be the hub of local and international business. This is because it hosts the world's
most large business and technology firms. In addition, this city hosts major research centres and
one of the best universities in the world, the University of Toronto (Kronick and Ambler 2019).
Most of the people who work in Toronto reside in the urban and suburbs with just a small
number residing in the upcountry. Toronto's population is increasing and hence it is an
interesting city to analyze so as to understand how this population is going to coalesce and
coexist without altering the economy in a negative way.
Narrowing down from the city, Don Valley Village has been chosen as the target
location for analysis. This is a mixed developed area that has residential as well as commercial

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facilities. The area hosts a population of approximately 30,000. The majority of people working
in this city reside here. Since this area is set as a community, there exist shopping centres that
most prefer to do their shopping rather than going to the city centre to get the same services. This
narrows down our map to the CF Fairview mall. This is a shopping facility that most, residents
and non-residents prefer to shop. Its strategic location enhances its usability and easy access
from all directions. The mall stocks a wide range of household, commercial, and industrial goods
and services. There is also a large parking space to accommodate shoppers.
Discussion
Map design principles of visual hierarchy and contrast have been employed here. These
techniques help in visualization and understanding of the maps. Different shapes have been used
to highlight major areas for emphasis and easier understanding. The maps have been arranged in
a clockwise orientation with the world map located at the top left corner highlighting Canada
which is the target country in this assignment. This helps in a bird view of the earth and hence
location the target country easily. Since Canada is a large country, it is easily identified in the
world map and it is important to note that its population varies from South to the North, highly
dense at the shores. Since most of the population is concentrated in the country's main cities, it
was wise to choose Toronto as the target city for this assignment.
The city has been highlighted in the map of Canada with a clouded outline. This helps in
differentiating it from other cities that are not of concern in this assignment. The target small
area of interest in this city is it's one of its suburbs, Don valley village. This area is a major
contributor to the city's economy in terms of providing skilled labor as well as providing
residences to local and international people. Within this area, there is a mall that most of these
villagers go shopping. This mall could not be left out in this analysis because of its impact on the

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residents. People find it easier to shop here as compared to going into the city centre hence
avoiding traffic.
The coordinate system used in this assignment is UCS. This coordinate system helps in
placing the maps in a common orientation with the help of the North Point. The north direction
makes it easier for map readers to extract the intended information easier and correctly.
Conclusion
From the maps, important aspects have been learned. For instance, getting down to
specific locality having a wide range of ideas of its outer locality, size, population, and
economic activities.

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Reference List
Duff, P.A., and Ava, B.Z., 2017. Demographics and heritage languages in Canada: Policies,
patterns, and prospects. In The Routledge Handbook of Heritage Language Education (pp. 57-
67). Routledge.
Kronick, J. and Ambler, S., 2019. Do demographics affect monetary policy transmission in
Canada?. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 24(2), pp.787-811.