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This study compares the urbanization patterns and dynamics of agricultural land in two peri-urban areas (Alberta Capital Region and Calgary Regional Partnership) in Canada. Hot spot analysis is conducted to identify the spatial clustering of agriculture-to-development conversion and areas at greatest risk. Pearson's correlation analysis is used to explore the association of urbanization and different agricultural land transitions. Key findings include: (1) disparities in the peri-urbanization patterns in the two study areas are associated with a mix of different geographic, economic, and policy influences; and (2) in general, distance from a major city is negatively correlated to agricultural land development and road density is negatively associated with agricultural land abandonment. Policy recommendations such as a call for infill development and regional buffer areas are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enduring theme in Canadian federal housing policy is promotion of home ownership through state-supported institutional mortgage finance. This article studies National Housing Act (NHA) mortgage lending that occurred in Vancouver in 1951, at the outset of the post-war era. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) archival mortgage files, which constitute the data source for this article, have rarely been used in academic scholarship and never previously for study of NHA lending patterns. The objective of this study is twofold: (1) to provide a detailed description of such lending in Vancouver for 1951, identify trends in the data, and make comparisons with the 1951 Census; and (2) evaluate a widespread view in the literature that the NHA promoted post-war suburbanization. The article also demonstrates the potential utility of this unique data source for the study of Canadian urban geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the housing experiences and coping strategies of low-income recent immigrants in Richmond and Surrey, two fast-growing outer suburbs of Vancouver where the immigrant population has increased rapidly in the last two decades and where there is a limited supply of affordable rental housing, including public and social housing. The study draws on data from seven focus groups with 88 recent immigrant renters and interviews with 15 key stakeholders, conducted in Vancouver, Richmond, and Surrey in 2010. The evidence indicates that these newly arrived immigrants face numerous difficulties in the rental housing market, such as high rents, overcrowding, and poor-quality housing. Most of these immigrants were spending more than half of their monthly household income on housing, putting them at risk of homelessness. The study's findings suggest that the housing crisis affecting Surrey and Richmond-due to a limited supply of affordable rental housing and high housing costs-makes these two cities challenging regions of Vancouver for newcomers to settle in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]