The author of this study has worked independently and the opinions expressed are therefore their own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the board of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. [...] The 2011 census indicated that more than 80 per cent of the population lives in metropolitan areas and that between 2006 and 2011, 95 per cent of the population growth in the nation occurred in metropolitan areas. [...] The focus of urban planning is principally on the nature of the urban form and the method of urban transport. [...] Preferences with respect to the urban form and mode of transport are justified only to the extent that they improve the economy and the affluence of urban households. [...] This led to greater population growth outside the urban core (suburban and even exurban areas), while urban cores have grown more slowly (or lost population).4 This suburbanization occurred not only with the proliferation of the automobile in the second half of the 20th century but also with the establishment and expansion of mass transit services in the middle 19th century (and before).