Relatively little research has explored spatial structure in modern major Canadian regions. Three common models are monocentricity, polycentricity, and dispersion, but these are not always mutually exclusive in the complex spatial structures of contemporary city-regions. Shifts between these models are discussed in the context of three explanations of economic growth and restructuring: accessibility, municipal competition, and globalization. All three explanations suggest a trend away from monocentricity. While this appears clearly in US cities, disagreement surrounds whether Canadian cities are following the same path. This study uses cross-sectional data from InfoGroup in 2011 to estimate the relative strengths of monocentricity, polycentricity, and dispersion for characterizing eight major regions. Results indicate that elements of each model are evident in all eight study regions, but each tends to dominate in different contexts. When focusing on Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, results imply that all three forces which guide spatial structure play a role and that job centers appear to play a particularly important structural role in larger regions.

To better plan for potential impacts of automated vehicles (AV), this study investigates the effects of performance expectancy and experience, based on the Unified Theory of the Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), on willingness to pay for private automated vehicles (PAVs) and intention to use an automated shuttle bus. Using survey data (N = 2658) from Southern Ontario, Canada, experience is separated into two constructs: experience with partially automated vehicles and experience with public transit. Results indicate that the impacts of performance expectancy are strongest, that AV experience and transit experience impact PAV adoption, but that transit experience is only linked with intention to use an automated shuttle bus. Findings paint a complex picture of the application of common technology adoption models to transportation planning, as the notion of ‘experience’ is multi-dimensional and suggests complex pathways towards shifting from existing mobility options towards new alternatives, such as PAVs and shuttle buses.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the precarity of urban society, illustrating both opportunities and challenges. Teleworking rates increased dramatically during the pandemic and may be sustained over the long term. For transportation planners, these changes belie the broader questions of how the geography of work and commuting will change based on pandemic-induced shifts in teleworking and what this will mean for society and policymaking. This study focuses on these questions by using survey data ( n = 2580) gathered in the autumn of 2021 to explore the geography of current and prospective telework. The study focuses on the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the mega-region in Southern Ontario, representing a fifth of Canadians. Survey data document telework practices before and during the pandemic, including prospective future telework practices. Inferential models are used to develop working-from-home scenarios which are allocated spatially based on respondents’ locations of work and residence. Findings indicate that telework appears to be poised to increase most relative to pre-pandemic levels around downtown Toronto based on locations of work, but increases in teleworking are more dispersed based on employees’ locations of residence. Contrary to expectations by many, teleworking is not significantly linked to home–work disconnect – suggesting that telework is poised to weaken the commute–housing trade-off embedded in bid rent theory. Together, these results portend a poor outlook for downtown urban agglomeration economies but also more nuanced impacts than simply inducing sprawl.