The data used to define the Settlement Area Boundary was derived from municipal official plan land use schedules and other mapping from other municipal planning documents; complementary data sources were also used to confirm the position and ensure the accurate alignment of the boundary.
Where possible, official plan mapping from upper- and single-tier municipalities was used to delineate Settlement Area Boundaries. The upper-and single-tier level was chosen as the preferred level of analysis because the Growth Plan is implemented by upper- and single-tier municipalities.
In many upper-tier official plans, however, detailed boundaries for smaller, less populated settlement areas are generalized or do not exist. The boundaries for these settlement areas were, therefore derived from lower-tier official plan maps. In some cases, maps from municipal planning documents other than official plans were used to identify the Settlement Area Boundary.
The Appendix at the end of this document lists the municipal mapping sources.
The use of complementary data sources such as municipal boundaries and roads is important, because the Settlement Area Boundary was generated by georeferencing and digitizing municipal official plan land use schedules. The complementary data are used as geospatial references to ensure the positional accuracy of the digitized Settlement Area Boundary.
Complementary data includes:
- Ontario Road Network (ORN): www.http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LIO/index.html
- National Hydro Network (NHN): http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/data/nhn/index.html
- Municipal Boundaries (Upper-tier, Single-tier, and Lower-tier municipalities): http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/data/admin/index.html
- Greenbelt Plan Boundaries (Ontario Regulation 59/05): http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page190.aspx
- Built Boundary defined by the Ministry of Infrastructure: https://www.placestogrow.ca/images/pdfs/Built_Boundary.pdf