[URBAN NOTE] "In 2017, Mississauga will have to decide how it grows up"
The Toronto Star's San Grewal looks at how Mississauga will be growing--growing up?--this year.
Mississauga is on a roll. An unprecedented number of mega-projects are moving forward. The diverse city is finally addressing thorny issues related to inclusiveness. And multi-national corporations continue to eye the GTA’s second-largest city when considering where to set up their operations.
But 2017 could be the year that Mississauga also makes progress on some issues that have been neglected through the years: the city’s ballooning budget has become an unavoidable problem; many residents continue to feel left behind due to a lack of affordable housing, and the recent boom in increased density or “vertical” growth hasn’t always been accompanied with public transit planning, strategies to attract more than just condos and an approach to develop arts and culture in the country’s sixth largest city.
These are some of the major issues that Mississauga will have to deal with if it wants to keep benefiting from its status as one of the most desirable places to live and do business in Ontario.
They come with a price tag just as municipal costs are increasing.
“If you added the city’s increase (to its budget) from 2011 to 2016, it’s about 30 per cent,” said John Walmark, chair of the City of Mississauga’s citizen oversight committee.
Mississauga is on a roll. An unprecedented number of mega-projects are moving forward. The diverse city is finally addressing thorny issues related to inclusiveness. And multi-national corporations continue to eye the GTA’s second-largest city when considering where to set up their operations.
But 2017 could be the year that Mississauga also makes progress on some issues that have been neglected through the years: the city’s ballooning budget has become an unavoidable problem; many residents continue to feel left behind due to a lack of affordable housing, and the recent boom in increased density or “vertical” growth hasn’t always been accompanied with public transit planning, strategies to attract more than just condos and an approach to develop arts and culture in the country’s sixth largest city.
These are some of the major issues that Mississauga will have to deal with if it wants to keep benefiting from its status as one of the most desirable places to live and do business in Ontario.
They come with a price tag just as municipal costs are increasing.
“If you added the city’s increase (to its budget) from 2011 to 2016, it’s about 30 per cent,” said John Walmark, chair of the City of Mississauga’s citizen oversight committee.