Existing Stock of Occupied Housing (Census Data)
Census data provide a baseline perspective on dwelling types, although since the census data show the total stock, they do not necessarily indicate the choices being made today or in the future -- they represent the consequences of choices made over many decades.* As shown in Table 5, the existing stock of occupied housing in the GGH is slightly more than one-half (53.7 percent) in the form of single-detached houses, about 30 percent in apartments, and about 15 percent in semi-detached and row houses (townhouses) combined.
Table 5: Distribution of Dwellings in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, by Structural Type, 2001
Dwelling Type | Inner Ring (%) | Outer Ring (%) | GGH (%) |
ingle-detached house | 47.5 | 70.1 | 53.7 |
emi-detached house | 8.1 | 4.7 | 7.2 |
ow house | 8.0 | 5.8 | 7.4 |
partment, detached duplex | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
partment, building that has five or more storeys | 25.4 | 6.1 | 20.1 |
partment, building that has fewer than five storeys | 8.7 | 10.3 | 9.1 |
ther single-attached house | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
ovable dwelling | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census Profiles; calculations by Will Dunning Inc.
* In theory it is possible to compare census data for 1996 and 2001 to estimate the growth of the housing stock by dwelling type. However, in the census data there appear to be large losses in two dwelling types - apartments in detached duplexes and apartments in buildings with less than five storeys - and it appears that the data may have been collected inconsistently in the two censuses. Therefore, this comparative approach has not been used.