Chicago and Toronto are the two biggest cities of the Great Lakes megaregion of North America, and they share a lot of similarities. They have similar populations, climates, street grids, and positions on the lake. To Americans, Toronto is sideways Chicago; to Canadians it’s the opposite. But how do these two Great Lakes metropolises compare?

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References:

Building heights came from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH): https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/city/toronto https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/city/chicago

Populations came from the 2021 Canadian census and the 2020 US decennial census.

Density maps came from: https://luminocity3d.org/WorldPopDen/#10/41.8102/-87.8000

Transit ridership numbers (see legend on bottom for type of transit): https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/2023-Q4-Ridership-APTA.pdf

Toronto subway frequencies: https://www.ttc.ca/routes-and-schedules/1/0

Ghost trains in Chicago: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/10/16/23393276/cta-chicago-transit-authority-ghost-buses-trains-service-problems

Reece's writings on transit in Toronto vs. Chicago: https://reecemartin.substack.com/p/table-of-contents

Extending the Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdot/supp_info/bloomingdale_trail.html

6.6 million trips on Divvy in 2023: https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/1/10/24033443/bicycles-cycling-chicago-protected-bike-lanes-streets-divvy

5.7 million trips on BikeShareTO in 2023: https://bikesharetoronto.com/news/looking-back-on-2023/

Greater Chicago has a higher median income: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/comparing-median-employment-income-in-large-canadian-and-american-metropolitan-areas.pdf

Toronto is less economically segregated: http://www-2.rotman.utoronto.ca/mpi/content/insight-canada-segregated-city/

Toronto is less black-white racially segregated: https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/centre-for-immigration-and-settlement/tmcis/publications/featured/Segregation_Trends_in_Toronto_Hulchanski_at_Ryerson_14_Feb_2019_w_Appendix.pdf

Health inequalities in Chicago vs Toronto: https://works.bepress.com/fdemaio/36/