The Milton study area is an oblong shape due to the difficulty of finding appropriate data boundaries. The study area consists of two residential areas separated by a rail corridor flanked by industrial uses running east-west. There is a GO regional passenger rail station in the centre of the site. Both residential zones are organized on neighbourhood unit principles, with loops and cul-de-sacs branching off a system of through roads. A campus containing schools for the hearing impaired and the learning disabled is located in the southwest quadrant. The study area also contains two small shopping centres.
Although the town was incorporated in the mid-19th century, two-thirds of the housing stock as of 2001 was built in the 1970s. All of the housing stock is ground-related, and two-thirds is in single-detached form. Milton is one of the lowest-density study areas on both a net and gross basis, reflecting both its history as a small town and its dominant period of growth. Without mainline urban transit, over 90% of all trips are by automobile.
