204: A Tale of Two Populations: Muskoka’s Second Home Study

October 11, 2018

12:30pm - 1:00pm

How can a community effectively plan and prepare for future growth and development, both in the public and private realm, without having detailed information relating to almost 60 per cent of the population? In Muskoka, seasonal residents outnumber permanent residents 3:2, yet StatsCan only collects permanent population data. To fill this gap, the District of Muskoka conducts a detailed Second Home Study, which provides valuable insight into the region’s seasonal population that is used by municipal policy-makers, non-governmental agencies, and the business community alike to prepare the community for economic, environmental, and social change. This presentation will discuss the study’s evolution, methodology, findings, trends, and lessons-learned.
 
Learning Objectives:

• Gain knowledge about how to develop and interpret effective survey questions aimed at determining frequency of use, household size, and economic impacts (among other factors) regarding second home populations
• Understand the relationship between survey data and policy, planning, and program implementation regarding community preparedness
• Gain knowledge about how to communicate survey results and study findings to a broad range of technical and general audiences

Speakers