Canada: Suburban Nation?

"Despite the pervasive transformation, [Canada's] suburbs are still chiefly characterized by enormous population growth. As developers continue to raise subdivisions in farmers' fields, more Canadians -- nearly one in two, according to some estimates -- live in suburbs than ever before.

In many ways, Canada's suburbs look more and more like cities.

In Mississauga, a large, older suburb west of Toronto, a developer is building a curvy 50-storey condo tower. In East Clayton, a subdivision in Surrey, southeast of Vancouver, residents can walk to convenience stores, schools, parks and bus stops in less than five minutes. More than half the population of two suburbs examined -- Richmond, B.C., and Markham, Ont. -- are immigrants as well as visible minorities.

As Statistics Canada prepares to analyze the results of the 2006 census, which was conducted this spring, The Globe and Mail has done an in-depth examination and resulting four-part series shedding light on the changing face of the oft-neglected, ever-disparaged suburb.

'We know remarkably little about the transformation of suburbs,' said Larry Bourne, a U of T professor of geography and planning. 'We're only now catching up to a realization of just how diverse the suburbs are.'"