Suburban Affiliation to Urban Centres as Measured By Newspaper Circulation and Other Indicators (Case Study: Burlington, Ontario)

Abstract

<p> This research paper addresses the question of the urban affiliation of a suburban population. Social survey data on spatial interaction are used to determine the affiliation of Burlington residents with the Hamilton-Wentworth region and Metropolitan Toronto. A secondary objective is to study the role of urban newspaper circulation in the suburban community in relation to the other variables for measuring urban affiliation. Specific attention is given to spatial variations in urban affiliation for different sub-areas within Burlington.</p> <p> The results show Burlington residents to be more affiliated with Hamilton-Wentworth than Metropolitan Toronto. However, within Burlington, sectoral differences in affiliation emerge. The older areas of Burlington have a strong affiliation to Hamilton-Wentworth; the later developed areas have equal levels of affilation with both urban centres. Newspaper circulation, emerges as a significant indicator of urban affiliation, but is a weaker measure than several other indicators (e.g. number of trips to urban centres and number of telephone calls to urban centres). Reasons for this are postulated in the analysis and in the conclusions.</p>