Grade 9 · Social Studies · Unit 10 of 11
How Land Is Used
Land use, planning and sprawl
What your child practises
Residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and open-space land uses, official plans and zoning, why floodplains need care, the Greenbelt, urban sprawl compared with compact growth, and ways to control sprawl.
Ontario Curriculum expectation: E1.1, E1.2, E1.3, E1.4 · land uses in communities, the influence of the environment and economic, social and political forces, and urban sprawl and compact growth
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
A city's land is 40% residential, 10% commercial, 10% industrial and 15% parks. The rest is roads and other uses. What percent is that?
answer box%
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25 %
Hint: Add the shares: 40 + 10 + 10 + 15 = 75. Then 100 − 75 = 25.
Question 2
A neighbourhood of 2 hectares has 40 homes. What is its density, in homes per hectare?
answer box/ha
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20 /ha
Hint: 40 ÷ 2 = 20 homes per hectare.
Question 3
What does an official plan do?
- names streets only
- sets out a municipality's goals and policies for how land will be used and how the community will grow
- lists the weather each day
- sets the price of gas
Show answer
sets out a municipality's goals and policies for how land will be used and how the community will grow
Hint: Municipal plans guide where homes, jobs, parks and services go.
Question 4
An urban growth boundary is a line outside which most development is not allowed. Its main aim is to…
- spread development outward
- increase sprawl
- direct growth inward and protect surrounding land
- remove all roads
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direct growth inward and protect surrounding land
Hint: Strategies to control sprawl include boundaries, greenbelts and incentives for infill.
Question 5
A new factory brings jobs, so the city rezones land nearby for housing and shops. This shows the influence of…
- earthquakes
- tides
- economic forces on land use
- glaciers
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economic forces on land use
Hint: Jobs and money affect where and how a community grows.
Question 6
Which is an impact of urban sprawl?
- shorter commutes for all
- more farmland protected
- fewer roads
- more car trips, longer commutes and the loss of farmland and natural areas
Show answer
more car trips, longer commutes and the loss of farmland and natural areas
Hint: Sprawl spreads people out, which makes services costly to deliver.