Urban prospects.(Toronto's growth compared with other urban centers.)(Brief Article)

The region around Toronto, known as the Golden Horseshoe and stretching from Oshawa to the east, Barrie to the north, Kitchener to the west and Buffalo and Rochester to the south, is the fourth-biggest urban area in North America -- and only a touch smaller than Chicagoland (including Gary and Kenosha).

The population of the Toronto area is estimated at 8.77 million, compared to 8.93 million for Chicago, 16.2 million for Los Angeles and 20.4 million for New York, according to Toronto-based Strategic Projections, which prepared the data shown in the table on the facing page.

Toronto was also in fourth place in 1990, but then trailed Chicago's population by a …