The applicability of the burgess zonal hypothesis to urban Canada

Abstract

A replication for Canada of Schnore's studies of socio-economic differentiation between United States central cities and suburbs produces generally similar results, although the Canadian patterns are by no means as pronounced or conclusive. Older, larger and highly suburbanized Canadian areas are most apt to have high-status groups over-represented in the suburbs and low-status groups over-represented in the central city. Furthermore, this pattern of socio-economic differentiation is found less often in Canadian areas than in the United States areas which tend to be older and larger. A study of change over time also suggests a movement toward socio-economic differentiation between city and suburb. These results are consistent with the Burgess zonal hypothesis which argues that lower-status groups increasingly inhabit the central section and upperstatus groups the outskirts as cities grow.