One piece of information that
always intrigues me when I travel to a new city, big or small, is its
population size. Typically I will look up this figure out of general curiosity
when I arrive at my destination. This may be partially due to the fact that I
grew up between my hometown, with a population of 7500 (now up to 8100!), and
Ottawa, with about 883 000, so I often use these figures as a point of
reference. Knowing this fact helps me to put a location’s culture, activities,
and even its history into perspective whether I am just visiting or I am living
there. This is something I started doing consistently a couple of years ago
when I went on a three-month trip through the UK and Europe. I don’t always necessarily
use trusted government sources to determine a city’s population (I know, for
shame) or conduct extensive research, but I find that having a general idea of
the size of a city helps me to have a better understanding of it. Additionally,
I am interested in the geographical expanse of a city in relation to its
population. For example, it astounds me that according to the 2011 Census, the
Greater Toronto Area had an approximate population of 6 million people on
5905.71 km2 of land (Census metropolitan area of Toronto, Ontario,
2011), and a city such as Calgary, with a population of just over 1.2 million
is dispersed across 5107 km2 (Census metropolitan area of Calgary,
Alberta, 2011). Population density, what an illuminating factoid! Especially
when you consider, as Davidson and Leyder explain, that these types of official
statistics involve “thousands of people and millions of hours of work”
(Davidson & Leyder, 1994, p. 62). While this information is undoubtedly
valuable, it is also important to consider what policies and practices are
being favoured when statistics are gathered. How does the social researcher use
these hard facts and how should they be classified? Population data may be more
straightforward, but these types of issues that Davidson and Leyder discuss are
interesting to think about nonetheless (1994, p. 62-65).
 |
| Airfares, second quarter 2015. Released in The Daily, Thursday, February 18, 2016 |
After taking the Government
Documents course last semester, I have also been taking advantage of the
Statistics Canada website and its publication The Daily, which is released each morning at 8:30am and features
news releases on current social and economic conditions across the country. Rather
than being presented in tabular form, this data is divided into items by topic,
which typically contain no more than a few sentences. Today, for example, you
could learn about the characteristics of international overnight travelers or
payroll employment, earnings and hours. While most of this data will never find
its way into my research, it is helpful to know that it is there for the taking
should I need it.
Sources:
Statistics
Canada. 2011. “Census Metropolitan Area Of Calgary, Alberta.”
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Facts-cma-eng.cfm?Lang=Eng&GK=CMA&GC=825.
Statistics
Canada. 2011. “Census Metropolitan Area Of Toronto, Ontario.”
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Facts-cma-eng.cfm?Lang=Eng&GK=CMA&GC=535.
Statistics
Canada, 2016. "The Daily." http://www.statcan.gc.ca/dai-quo/.
"While this information is undoubtedly valuable, it is also important to consider what policies and practices are being favoured when statistics are gathered. How does the social researcher use these hard facts and how should they be classified?" Very good point, Angélique. And to that point -- How do we know if the population figures are accurate? Are certain measurement methods being used to show either slightly smaller or larger population estimates in different contexts, depending on the government policy objective and the need for funding to support the citizens in a given jurisdiction?
ReplyDeleteI've been quite interested in populations as well since I moved Toronto, mainly because of the "vertical sprawl." I currently live at Yonge and Eglinton, where the population is predicted to triple in the next two decades. Population density in particular has such wide social implications when it comes to parks, services, etc. I have to admit, though, I don't keep this close of an eye on those changes!
ReplyDeleteIt's such an interesting piece of information really. But speaking to your point Bridgette--I agree, how often do we take these kinds of facts at face value? And like you said, how is this information acquired and does the process change for any variety of reasons? Something interesting to think about. It would be great to be on the research end of this some way...
ReplyDeleteJelena--That is a really great point about the impact of population density on urban planning, recreation services, etc. I hadn't even thought about that!