Metropolitan plans are commonly based on a system of suburban office clusters. The large variation among recent plans suggests a poor understanding of their nature and impacts. A taxonomy of office clusters could provide a necessary framework. Six hypotheses on the type, frequency, location, employment base and travel characteristics of suburban clusters were tested in a case-study of the Toronto region. Six physical types were identified and found to be associated with certain locations, employment activities and travel mode characteristics. The Toronto metropolitan plan was found to be successful when it conformed with these findings and unsuccessful when it did not. The results lead to provisional guidelines for future metropolitan plans.
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