A1.1 Settlement and the environment
Physical features and processes steer where people settle: climate and soil pull farming to fertile plains, harbours and rivers anchor cities, and mountains and deserts push settlement away. Looking forward, rising seas, desertification, and stronger storms will test which communities can adapt and which must move.
Example
Analyse the environmental effect of suburban sprawl and a river city's sewage.
- Sprawl: farmland and woodlots are paved, so rain runs to drains instead of soaking in, and habitat is lost outward from the core.
- Sewage: downstream water quality falls until treatment catches up with growth.
Example
Analyse the environmental effect of a hillside town's roads.
- Hillside roads: cut slopes erode in rain, so soil washes onto the valley floor below.
A1.2 Different perspectives on settlement
Example
Give the view of a developer and a farmer on the urban edge on a new subdivision.
- Developer: demand for homes near jobs; the land is the site that meets it.
- Farmer: fields that fed the city for generations become lawns, and the remaining fields face rising taxes.
Example
Give the view of a long-time resident and a commuter on a new subdivision.
- Resident: more traffic and lost views; commuter: a home they can afford, at the cost of a longer drive. Each judges by their stake.
A1.3 Settlement, land and First Nations communities
Settlement across what is now Canada happened on lands that Indigenous peoples had lived on and cared for since long before Europeans arrived.
Treaties set out how the land would be shared. Reserves are lands set apart under those agreements. Sometimes the land set aside fell short of what a treaty promised. A specific claim is how that is addressed today.
Example
Explain how the location of a reserve affects a community's access to services.
- Some communities have no year-round road, rail or marine link. Food has to be flown or shipped in, which is why Nutrition North exists. Care that is not available at home means travelling out. The Non-Insured Health Benefits program covers that travel.
Example
Explain how the size of a reserve affects housing.
- A small land base leaves little room for new housing as the community grows, so families crowd.
Example
Explain what land-claim agreements change.
- A settled land claim returns land or its value to the community's own decisions, so it can plan housing and economic development on its own terms.