The Effects and Implications of Urbanization on the Environmental Integrity of the Oak Ridges Moraine in Ontario, Canada

A significant geological feature in Ontario, the Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM), is an environmentally vulnerable area under pressure from both urbanization and population growth. In 1995, the provincial government sought to expand highways and the sale of public land in these ecologically sensitive areas. Five years later, municipal drinking water was contaminated with E. coli in the nearby town Walkerton, and political motives regarding land use were questioned. This prompted the formation of several initiatives in 2001–2002, including the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act (ORMCA), the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation (ORMF), and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP). This article examines both population growth and urbanization throughout the ORM since the 1980s, with a focus on the Oak Ridges Community (ORC) in the municipality of Richmond Hill. Specifically, steady population growth has put pressure on sensitive geological features such as aquifers, which are the source of drinking water in the community. Further analysis of the ORC shows that urbanization has been minimally influenced by the initiatives of 2002. This article raises questions about land use in the ORC and thus the ORM as a whole

Civil engineering · Environmental planning · Environmental protection · Geography · Land use · Moraine · Physical geography · Population · Population growth · Urbanization · Engineering · Environmental and Social Impact Assessments · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Ecology