B. People and Environments · Living and Working in Ontario

How We Use the Land

B3 B1.1 B3.7About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can name and describe different types of land use.
I can give examples of where each type of land use happens in Ontario.
I can explain how the natural environment affects how land is used.
I can read and make a simple land use map.

Words to know

land use
What people do with a piece of land, like building homes, farming or making a park.

residential
Land used for homes, like houses and apartment buildings.

commercial
Land used for businesses that sell things, like stores, malls and restaurants.

industrial
Land used for factories, mines, warehouses and other places that make or move goods.

agricultural
Land used for farming: growing crops or raising animals.

recreational
Land used for fun and play, like parks, trails, arenas and beaches.

conservation area
Land kept as natural as possible to protect plants, animals and water.

Remember from Grade 1

In Grade 1 you noticed that your community has different areas: places with homes, stores, parks, farms and factories. Geographers have a name for this: land use.

In Grade 3, we look at land use across all of Ontario, and we ask a big question: Why is land used this way, in this place?

Types of land use

Every piece of land is used for something. Here are the main types:

Land use	What it means	An Ontario example
🏠 Residential	homes	apartment towers in Toronto; houses on a street in a small town
🛒 Commercial	stores and businesses	a shopping mall, a downtown main street
🏭 Industrial	factories, mines, warehouses	car factories in Windsor and Oshawa; mines near Sudbury
🚜 Agricultural	farms	fruit farms in the Niagara region; vegetable farms in the Holland Marsh
🏞️ Recreational	parks and places to play	Algonquin Park, a local hockey arena, a beach on Lake Huron
🏫 Institutional	schools, hospitals, libraries, places of worship	your school, a hospital
🚆 Transportation	roads, railways, airports, ports	Highway 401, Toronto Pearson Airport, the port of Thunder Bay
🌲 Conservation	land protected to keep nature healthy	conservation areas, provincial parks, wetlands

Types of land use in Ontario

A simple land use map of a made-up town called Riverton. Each kind of land use has its own pattern. The factories are right beside the river.

Why is land used this way?

People choose how to use land partly because of the natural environment:

Fertile soil and a warm climate → farms. (Niagara's climate, near two Great Lakes, is good for peaches, cherries and grapes.)
Minerals in the rock → mines. (Sudbury, on the Canadian Shield, has nickel and copper.)
Forests → sawmills and paper mills.
Lakes, rivers and harbours → ports, shipping and beaches.
Beautiful lakes and forests → cottages, camps and parks. (Muskoka and Algonquin Park.)
Flat land near water and roads → cities and factories.

Land use also depends on what people need and want: homes, jobs, food, places to play, and places to keep nature safe.

Rows of grapevines heavy with purple grapes stretch across a farm, with fields and a farmhouse in the distance. — Fertile soil and a mild climate make the Niagara region a good place for vineyards and fruit farms. AI-generated image

Each arrow shows a connection: the natural environment helps decide how people use the land.

Land use can change

Land use is not forever. A farm field can become a new neighbourhood. An old factory can become apartments or a park. Communities make rules, called zoning, about what can be built where.

Worked example

Let's sort some land uses

Sort these into land use types: a hospital, a corn field, a grocery store, a campground, an apartment building.

A hospital serves the community, like schools and libraries: institutional.
A corn field grows food: agricultural.
A grocery store sells things: commercial.
A campground is for fun outdoors: recreational.
An apartment building is where people live: residential.

Hospital: institutional. Corn field: agricultural. Grocery store: commercial. Campground: recreational. Apartment building: residential.

Worked example

Let's read the Riverton map

Look at the Riverton land use map. The factories are beside the river. Why might the town have put them there?

Factories need water for making things and cooling machines.
In the past, boats on rivers carried heavy goods to and from factories.
Putting factories in their own area keeps noise and trucks away from homes.

Factories are often built beside rivers or lakes for water and transportation, in an area apart from homes.

Just for fun

Joke: Why did the farmer win an award?

Because she was outstanding in her field! (That's agricultural land use.)

Hands-on activity

Land use walk and map

You need: a clipboard or notebook, a pencil and a grown-up.

Go for a walk around your block or neighbourhood with a grown-up, or look out the car window on a drive.
Make a tally chart with these headings: residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, institutional, transportation, conservation.
Make a tally mark each time you see an example.
At home, draw a simple land use map of what you saw. Give each land use a colour or pattern, and make a legend.
Talk: "Which land use did we see the most? Why do you think that is?"

Safety: stay with your grown-up, and stop and look both ways at every street.

What to look for: a tally chart with at least four land uses, a map with a title and legend, and one reason for the land use seen most often.

Your turn

What is land use?

What type of land use is a shopping mall?

What type of land use is a dairy farm?

What type of land use is a car factory?

Name one example of recreational land use.

What type of land use is your school?

Look at the Riverton map. Which land use is right beside the river?

More practice: warm-up

What type of land use is an apartment building?

What type of land use is Highway 401?

What type of land use is a conservation area?

Name a type of land use where people buy things.

What type of land use is a library?

More practice: on your own

Why does the Niagara region have many fruit farms?

Why are there mines near Sudbury?

Why do many people build cottages in Muskoka?

Give one reason a town might keep factories away from homes.

Name a land use that can change, and tell what it might change into.

Challenge

A town is growing. It could build new homes on a farm field or beside a wetland. What is one problem with each choice?

Why do you think most big cities in Ontario are beside a lake or river? Give two reasons.

Look at the land use table. Which two land uses would you expect to find most in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and why?

Check your understanding

Quiz

What type of land use is a grocery store?

What type of land use is a mine?

Which land use would you most expect on deep, fertile soil in southern Ontario?

What is a conservation area?

A hockey arena is an example of which land use?

Why are many cottages built in Muskoka?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Land is used for different purposes (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, institutional, transportation and conservation). The natural environment (soil, climate, rock, water, forests) helps explain why land is used a certain way in a certain place, and land use can change over time.

How to help at home:

Do the land use walk together. On car trips, play "land use I spy."
Look at a satellite view of your community on a map app and point out farms, neighbourhoods, industrial areas and parks.
If there is a sign about new construction or a rezoning notice in your area, read it together.

Common difficulties:

Commercial vs. industrial. Commercial means selling (stores); industrial means making, mining or moving goods (factories, mines, warehouses).
Institutional is a new word. Link it to places that serve everyone: schools, hospitals, libraries.
Some places fit two types (a store on the ground floor with apartments above is commercial and residential). That is fine; ask your child to explain their choice.