Contiguously settled areas (CSAs) are boundaries representing the spatial extent of settled areas based on their physical footprint on the landscape. They are derived from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's 30 m spatial resolution Semi-decadal Land Use Time Series.

For each CSA year, the land use product for the corresponding year was used as the base data. Settled areas were identified by extracting pixels from the Semi-decadal Land Use Time Series classified as one of the following classes: settlement, high reflectance settlement, settlement forest, roads, vegetated settlement or very high reflectance settlement. The population centre served as the starting point for identifying the core area of the contiguously settled area. For each population centre, the settled area intersecting its boundaries was selected and this area was edited according to a set of guidelines to create a boundary for the contiguously settled area. In general, pixels classified as settlement that are not contiguous with the core settled area are removed. Land covers other than built-up, such as forest, water, cropland and grassland, are included within CSA boundaries when enclosed by settled areas. If the contiguously settled areas of two or more population centres are attached, one CSA is created for the entire area and these areas are termed “agglomerated CSAs.”

CSA boundaries were produced for Statistics Canada population centres with a 2021 population greater than 5,000 persons or those within a census metropolitan area or census agglomeration, and do not include settled areas that are non-contiguous with these areas.

CSAs associated with a population centre that crosses provincial boundaries have been split into provincial portions. These include the CSAs of Ottawa-Gatineau, Hawkesbury and Lloydminster. Contiguously settled area boundaries were not created for the population centres of Iqaluit, Whitehorse and Yellowknife since the Semi-decadal Land Use Time Series does not have coverage for areas north of 60° N.

For more details of the CSA methodology, please see Contiguously Settled Areas: Boundaries and User Documentation.