The Market Place

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The market place is where people trade and sell services. The size of the market, as measured by population, is by far the most important element in a city’s attraction for commercial services. However, two other economic characteristics of markets can modify this attraction: the level of income and the centrality. The commercial activity index, indicates the degree of specialization in commercial activities within each market.

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Markets are places where goods and services are bought and sold. The corporations that provide goods and services to Canadian consumers visualize the country as a set of markets of varying sizes, and with different characteristics. They know that the major urban centres, defined by these corporations as market areas (or service areas), contain most of the Canadian market, and provide easy access to the remainder.

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Photograph of a market place in West Vancouver where fresh produce is being sold to pedestrians.

Characteristics of Markets

The most important characteristic of urban centres is the extraordinary concentrations of human activity that they represent. The Toronto metropolitan area includes almost one-fifth of Canada's population and economic activity within an area less than one half of one percent of the country's land area. Outside the cities, rural populations are small and widely dispersed, with less than 25% of Canada's population living in rural areas. Most of the goods and services consumed in these rural areas are provided by nearby cities.

While the size of the market, as measured by population, is by far the most important element in a city's attraction for commercial services, such as retail, finance and recreation; two other economic characteristics of markets can modify this attraction: the level of income and the centrality. Centrality is the location advantage enjoyed by a city which serves other nearby cities or surrounding rural areas with goods or services. The commercial activity index is a final summary measure of the varying attraction of urban places as locations for commercial activity. The index compares the actual commercial employment to the employment predicted on the basis of population.

To properly interpret these maps, please consult the text Data and Mapping Notes.