Uploaded on 2016-05-02 by PeterNormanSmith

I live in a town of ~50,000 inhabitants called Georgetown, Ontario. It is on the edge of the built up area referred to locally as the GTA – Greater Toronto Area. It has a two-tier municipal government, the Regional Municipality of Halton at the upper level and the Town of Halton Hills at the lower level. **Top-5 reasons I live here:** Employment opportunities; Environment; Culture; Transportation; International connections; **To what extend does your own place of residence fulfill your ideal livability criteria?** 1. Employment opportunities: As Toronto is Canada’s main commercial centre; it offers a lot of employment opportunities. Employment is however, distributed widely across the GTA which can lead to long commute times; 2. Environment: Georgetown, to a large extent, has a pleasant environment, we are at the edge of the built up GTA and surrounded by a zone with development restrictions. Although our climate can be extreme, particularly in winter, but we have adapted our lives to the climate. ![Environment - Edge of urban development][1] 3. Transportation: This is the livability aspect that is least satisfactory. Many cities in Canada embraced the car as the main mode of transport but as the total population and the population density increase, drive times have increased and the journey variability have become more extreme. Significant investment is being made to improve inter-urban transportation to increase train service from one-way commuter-only service to two-way all day service. The only local bus service in the Town of Halton Hills, however, is for seniors; so transport options within the municipality are only car and taxi. ![Inter-Urban Bus Service][2] 4. Culture: Within the GTA, there is a wonderfully diverse set of cultures. This is reflected in a wide range of cultural diversions, I’ve chosen 2 photos to show this: one from the annual AfroFest, which celebrates music from Africa and the other of the Georgetown Cultural Centre, which contains a theatre, art gallery and library. ![AfroFest Toronto][3] 5. International connections: I, like most GTA residents, have family connections in other countries. Consequently having a large airport with flights to 4 continents is important. Formerly we had a rail connection from Georgetown to Chicago and there has been a lot of discussion in the USA and Canada, but not much action, on the subject of high-speed rail links between the GTA and Detroit+Chicago and GTA to New York City. **What would I change?** I would improve the availability of public transportation with the town of Halton Hills. As the population of the municipality is planned to increase by 35,000 over the next 15 years, we cannot continue to rely on the car as the only local transportation system. I would also encourage population intensification rather than continued urban boundary expansion. I’m uploading a photo of a proposed 11 story development in the heart of the old down-town Georgetown. This represents a big departure from the 2 or 3 story traditional Main Street but will fulfill demand and is close to the inter-urban rail transportation hub. ![Intensification proposal][4] **Why do we move?** There are many livable aspects to my birth town, **Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK**. It has a dense city form, which supports frequent light-rail and bus public transport. Employment opportunities for people with tertiary educated are expanding. There are national parks close by. However, the personal security situation is markedly worse than here in the GTA, the culture is less diverse and the international connectivity is lower. **Amsterdam, Netherlands**: Good transportation network, good international connections via Schipol Airport, diverse culture, canals offer interesting environment - though far from natural. **Singapore**: Good transportation network, good international connections via Singapore Airport, diverse culture, interesting environment - with some natural settings. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14622010532001613.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14622007442836412.png [3]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14622005132633419.jpg [4]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14622003676209769.jpg