Clarisse Reyna

Creating a New Well-Being Index for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that takes into account Urban and Environmental Factors ©2016

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has experienced much urban growth between 1985 and 2011. This paper aimed to create a well-being index taking into account both urban and environmental components because it is important to study the effects of this urban growth on the environment. Three indicators were used to create this index: urban change area, urban area and air pollutants. Remote sensing was used to quantify the percentages of urban change area and urban area per census subdivision. The weighting procedure used for these indicators was regression analysis, avoiding subjectivity. Results showed that cities with the highest well-being scores are Brock and Clarington, while cities with the lowest well-being scores include Mississauga and Brampton. This MRP is a preliminary attempt to conduct a spatial assessment of environmental sustainability across the GTA. Others should build from this by adding environmental indicators that increases the accuracy and effectiveness of this index.