[The Mississauga Muse]

Well once past the obligatory snarkiness and snootiness in the first few paragraphs, Rochon actually offers something worth reading to those who have the patience. Glad to see especially that she acknowledges the density, which compares to many older cities and is continuing to increase. Short blocks and animated pedestrian routes is what the new development in the City Centre is about.

That Rochon hasn't two clues.

Check this out:

"And there's a quiet revolution taking place there. Teenagers meeting with Mississauga planners are expressing a desire for a vibrant downtown that comes with clubs and restaurants. A thousand people have turned out each week over the last four Tuesdays for an ongoing speakers' series, called A Conversation About Building a City for the 21st Century, at Mississauga's Living Arts Centre."

I was AT all four of those speaker sessions. Dunno what Lisa Rochon was smokin' to write "A thousand people have turned out each week over the last four Tuesdays" but zeewowoo.


Then you get this crapolla:

"and there is a virtual United Nations of people efficiently accommodated in a variety of housing, from high-rise apartments to townhouses to single-family houses with double garages. It works."

Peel --AND Mississauga has a dismal shameful record when it comes to affordable housing. I swear. It's almost like there's some secret policy in place to try and get the less-affluent OUT of Peel and over to Toronto or some other municipality.

And during that CITIES NOW Budget with that 5% levy? We saw a councillor state that she was opposed to the 5% because it would affect "certain areas of the city."

Instead she suggested a levy for each household since --you ready?-- "infrastructure affects everyone".

Sure. Like the "infrastructure" in Port Credit or Clarkson is the same qualilty as that in Malton.

Sorry. But so long as Mississauga's got on its Council even one councillor who suggests that whether you live in the cheapest townhouse or the multi-million dollar lakeside mansion you pay the same "levy", Mississauga will not only not be "sexy", it'll be the same Mississauga it always was.

A glossy public facade and a hole for a soul.

There is one thing I do agree on in that article, "obedient council."

 

[jeicow]

Just since I know the areas better, but development in Clarkson, Port Credit and Lakeview are picking up. (Four major projects in Clarkson (5 if you count phases), two (three if you count phases) in Port Credit, and another two to three in Lakeview). The city hasn't ignored this since Place Studies regarding development of the three are either ongoing (Clarkson, Port Credit) or commencing within the next year (Lakeview). The NIMBYism in these areas is partially right since some proposals really just don't fit into the neighbourhood's character, which to a point is a good thing for a community to stand up against. The Idea Condo in Lakeview was too big for setting and the fact that the community unified and stood up against the overly tall tower was correct. The new (shorter) proposal came through which in my opinion fits the context of the area much better. Some would say it's flat out because the 'burbs are scared of height, but I believe many on this board would agree that the ROM condo didn't fit into the context of that neighbourhood so it isn't just the "burbs" that are scared of density and height.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

I also attend that conversation speaker series, and I must say they were truly inspiring events. Citizens packed the Living Arts Centre each night to hear from speakers on how we can transform Mississauga.

If you were at all four how come you used the word "packed"? Even the Trudeau one wasn't and the last? I wanted to watch it from the balcony and they wouldn't let me up there. Said we had to fill the main floor first. Told 'em I'd wait until it was full. (I really wanted to watch from the balcony) Never happened.

Craig MacBride of the Mississauga News wrote:

"If Justin Trudeau, the second coming of grace and attitude to Canadian politics, can't fill that place, who can?"

Next You wrote:

I believe the entire speakers series will be posted online soon at: http://www.conversation21.ca/

And it's a good thing you posted that URL, man. Because you have to know it exists to reach it. Go to mississauga.ca and try and find reference to the 21st Century conversation at the front door.

Ain't there. Ya got to be really motivated to find it. Like follow a link, go all the way down, recognize what "www.conversation21.ca" means and...

However "Residential Pool Installation" IS on their front door. And their "Awards".

Here's my prediction. The people who were out for the Stephen Lewis thing overlap nicely with who showed up for the Mississauga Matters "invitation-only" event.

And a great many are city employees themselves. And, what I can't figure out --a lot of people (a LOT) who apparently have no postal codes at all.

Perhaps they beamed in from Alpha Proxima.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

There isn’t a precedent for Mississauga to aspire to, however you have to admire and should support the city’s energy and commitment to change and improve its built environment for the future.

"however you have to admire and should support the city’s energy and commitment to change "

HAHAHAHAHAHAHaaaaaa.... "commitment"?? HAHAHA oh my too funny.

As Rochon pointed out there is a citywide rethink taking place and its hard to simply ignore and brush off as window dressing.

Not if you attend General Committee, Council, Budget and Audit Committee meetings like I do, Louroz. AND attend Peel Regional ones to boot.

I've seen more convincing window dressing at a Dollar Store.

For the first time in its history, the politicians, developers, corporations and most importantly citizens are all engaged and on the same page.

HAHAHAHAAHAhaaaaaa... *snork*

Mississauga could be the very place where it can succeed and set the precedent itself for other world cities.

Oh Lord, I hope not. It'd be really tough for me to think of a more uncaring yet hypocritical place. So incredibly Paper.

Still have trouble believing that revelation actually.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

I see homeless people in 10/Dundas nowadays. Mississauga is becoming urban already, isn't that great?

THANK YOU, Thou Walkin' 'Round With Eyes Open!

However Les Rich in Wards 1 and 2 can take heart. Mississauga does its best to encourage them to move to Toronto.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

That's a huge stereotype that will probably prove you wrong in the future. The equally impressive condo boom in Mississauga is a prime example of people already embracing urban density.

Louroz

Save for Stephen Lewis and Roberta Bondar, all other speakers --and so much of the entire 21stconversation is about buildings.

Lewis emphasized "the human condition" --that we are moral beings. Our moral obligation to help all our citizens.

And then somewhere the conversation skidded into nodes and buildings and ...even from the public questions, at least a few were checking out how to design Mississauga around upping their own property values.

And the people who really needed a voice --I mean like needed, not only weren't there, but I can't recall a single question asked on their behalf.

Truly hypocritical when you think that one of the "goals" of this Our Future Mississauga was "better distribution of wealth".

A noise. Just as meaningful as a sneeze.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

What about Cooksville, Port Credit, and Streetville?

There is a lot of potential along the Hurontario and Dundas corridors as well, which are getting LRT.

Hey there, doady. I think that's one of the things that really bothered me about those four speaker series nights.

If you didn't know anything about Mississauga, you'd conclude that only three things mattered.

Port Credit, Clarkson and Streetsville. (not Cooksville)

Port Credit, Clarkson and Streetsville being old towns built for a 5mph animal retains the characteristics of what urban sprawlers are hoping to get back to.

Cooksville was an old town once too. But look at it now and --gaaah. There's some really needy people in among the affluent whose primary concern is Gypsy Moth.

 

[jeicow]

However Les Rich in Wards 1 and 2 can take heart. Mississauga does its best to encourage them to move to Toronto.

What are you talking about? The most community involved foodbanks are located in the south. Know Compass on Lakeshore East of Port Credit? It was a initiative of local churches through out Clarkson that is part foodbank/part free ESL centre. The foodbank portion has been so successful that they are actually turning food away to go to Foodpath.

The charity soup kitchen in Port Credit is often packed and the biggest thing holding them back is a lack of volunteers (which has increased as a result of them accepting people under 18).

Southern Mississauga probably has some of the greatest mixes of incomes in the city. There's the super rich (no one denies it), middle class, lower class and those who live in subsidized, region run apartments. As someone who lives in the South and isn't part of "Les Rich" of Mississauga, like pretty much everyone else here in the south, I take offense to the fact that you keep going on and on about how the south hates the poor and try to get them to leave. I just don't understand the discontent for us all.

 

[yyzer]

Not if you attend General Committee, Council, Budget and Audit Committee meetings like I do, Louroz. AND attend Peel Regional ones to boot.

Muse...uh...you seem to have an awful lot of time on your hands....

 

[FutureMayor]

Mississauga Thoughts

Mississauga Muse:

Conversation21 Attendance

I think we have to give the city some credit for organizing a largely successful conversation series and avoiding another Mississauga Matters fiasco. They selected an appropriate venue (1315 seat Hammerson Hall), it was accessible to all, ticket orders and pick was easy and the event was well advertised with bus shelters, in the News and at all city facilities. Even my 18 year old cousin and his girlfriend who are usually oblivious to any events happening in the city heard about it and wanted to go to the Justin Trudeau talk, which luckily I had extra tickets to.

The only thing I would have done different was to broadcast the talks live on the net and on Rogers Cable for those who couldn’t attend in person.

As for actual numbers, the orchestra level which contains about 613 seats, along with the dress circle 278 seats were usually filled each evening. So give and take a few, at least 800 people were present at each talk, an impressive number given the history of public engagement in this city. The only time I observed the 424 seat balcony used was for Justin’s speech. So that’s the only evening where I would say the number hit 1,000 people. On that note, I thought Justin’s keynote speech was the least inspiring and relevant to Mississauga out of all of them.

I thought each part of the series was well attended; also depending on who was speaking the crowd varied, but usually contained a good mix of backgrounds and age groups.

As for the thought that a large number of attendees may be city employees, I can assure that was not the case. After spending the last 10 years running around city hall, I know most faces and there weren’t that many in the crowd. That’s one that are most passionate about the future of the city were present, which is a good thing.

There was a large presence of senior staff, and I also found encouraging that the entire senior staff team was present each evening. When I spoke about commitment, that’s the kind of commitment I’m talking about. The senior management team needed to hear those ideas and thoughts to drive the agenda in their departments. I also found it refreshing that the city had regular citizens acting as volunteers at the registration booths.

City Affiliation

As for it not being directly on the city’s site, I believe this was a deliberate strategy. At first I found it strange the lack of association with the city, except for a small civic mark on the bottom. However, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me as I’ve observed that the public usually doesn’t want nothing to do with any government related project or program, this is especially true with young people and new immigrants.

By the series disassociating itself as much as possible from the city of Mississauga, it likely became more approachable and accessible to some.

As for a lack of a postal code, hell I even lie about that myself, I often use the City Hall postal code when I register for anything online. So you shouldn’t put too much emphasis on those numbers and again the demographics changed according to who was speaking. I noticed a greater number of students during the last session.

Commitment to Change by the entire City

When I said “city’s commitment†I was referring to it in a broader sense, beyond just the corporation but from everyone who lives and works in Mississauga. The public attendance at such events, during the Placemaking initiative, the My Mississauga summer events, the vote for the Absolute towers, citizen are showing that they care about the city’s future. Supporting that are the developers, the best example I can think of is FRAM in Port Credit and increasingly developers in the City Centre with their commitment to plan and build great new public spaces and buildings.

Council Meetings and Future Direction of Mississauga Politics

I can see how you can become increasingly skeptical about the political direction of the city, especially if you sit through all those meetings. I use to attend a lot of those council and general committee meetings myself as student, these days I usually catch city council on Rogers, and I continue to pour over agendas, minutes and the budget line by line. Trust me, I hear what you must be thinking and feeling. You can imagine what is said and takes place behind closed doors. However, this isn’t just restricted to just Mississauga, this can be seen at every level of government, even at the Region as you also rightly pointed out. It’s how politicians operate.

However, I’m bursting with optimism, eventually with time the current slate will be wiped clean and replaced with fresh new leadership. I have real faith in the people of Mississauga, and I honestly believe the tidal wave of real change is coming sooner rather than later.

Louroz

 

[syn]

Muse...uh...you seem to have an awful lot of time on your hands....

So? It's her time. I for one appreciate the fact that she'd take the time to do all this stuff that the rest of us have difficulty finding time for even occasionally, and I like her fresh perspective on things.

 

[khris]

I see homeless people in 10/Dundas nowadays. Mississauga is becoming urban already, isn't that great?

I've been seeing this for a few years now. At least the past 4 years.

However, I also have difficulty envisioning Mississauga ever transforming into anything with a true urban character or core. The main reason I think it will never happen is because most people move to Mississauga (and other suburbs) precisely to escape urban density. Most wouldn't want their neighbourhoods urbanized, because that would mean a degradation of the qualities that lured them there in the first place.

One thing you fail to realize is the urban area is moving, and pushing the suburban area further north and west.
Eventually Mississauga will be very much urban. It's not going to happen overnight. Maybe Mississauga is also redefining urban. Maybe we need to think outside of what we already know as urban and reinterpret it.
Hazel is not the person for this city right now and hasn't been for some time. She's NOT urban. She's not an urban leader. She's suburban very much so, and has a very suburban way of thinking. I've been saying this for a few years now, and it completely blows me away that she keeps getting voted back in.
If we want it to become urban in the same sense of downtown Toronto or Hamilton or any other city in Canada, that's going to take a lot more time. Those cities developed over a long time as well, but they also developed in a much different way than Mississauga has. Mississauga is already in modern times. Those cities were not when they started being developed.

 

[adma]

But is there *any* so-called "urban" leader on the horizon? I'm not sure Carolyn Parrish'd be that much more "progressive" on that front. Or anyone in the 905 belt, for that matter, save maybe someone like Erin Shapero in Markham...

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

What are you talking about? The most community involved foodbanks are located in the south. Know Compass on Lakeshore East of Port Credit? It was a initiative of local churches through out Clarkson that is part foodbank/part free ESL centre. The foodbank portion has been so successful that they are actually turning food away to go to Foodpath.

The charity soup kitchen in Port Credit is often packed and the biggest thing holding them back is a lack of volunteers (which has increased as a result of them accepting people under 18).

Southern Mississauga probably has some of the greatest mixes of incomes in the city. There's the super rich (no one denies it), middle class, lower class and those who live in subsidized, region run apartments. As someone who lives in the South and isn't part of "Les Rich" of Mississauga, like pretty much everyone else here in the south, I take offense to the fact that you keep going on and on about how the south hates the poor and try to get them to leave. I just don't understand the discontent for us all.

I'm going by something that was suggested at the Cities Now budget meeting. I can put the actual footage online for you. But when the 5% "infrastructure levy" was raised for debate, the Ward 2 councillor raised issue saying that she supported a 1% levy. No problem with that.

Then she said that if it does go to 5% she would not support that because of how in her area, there are people who won't be paying just $50 as suggested for the average home price in Mississauga. She said it would be considerably more than that.

I understand that too.

Then she said that the 5% infrastructure levy would affect "various areas of the city." Perhaps I was wrong to read that but seems to me that 5% of the high priced houses would be tough for some to swallow.

I understand that too.

But then she suggested something extraordinary. That the 5% not be 5% (meaning tied to the property tax) but a levy per house. Saying that a run-down townhouse and the lakeshore mansion would both pay the same levy because "infrastructure affects everyone".

McCallion herself raised issue and said that her house was worth $99-thou and she was prepared to pay the 5% levy because she did not want someone in a townhouse to pay for her (I forget McCallion's exact words but I will certainly post the clip).

Council voted and Wards 1 and 2 didn't support the 5%.

I was at the Malton Festival and also checked out the Meadowvalle 25th Anniversary celebrations. Do you know that Mississauga's support for the Malton Festival was a measly two hundred BUCKS?!

These are the people who talk about better distribution of wealth and services being a goal for Our Future Mississauga.

You wrote:

"I take offense to the fact that you keep going on and on about how the south hates the poor and try to get them to leave."

All I wrote was:

"However Les Rich in Wards 1 and 2 can take heart. Mississauga does its best to encourage them to move to Toronto."

My mistake. Les Rich in the other wards can take heart as well. Just from the Social Profiles researched by Peel Region, if memory serves, Lorne Park/Clarkson had by far the highest Mississauga average incomes and real estate.

The problem is it also had some of the most needy (Lakeview).

I was likely not as precise in my second sentence as I should've been. I wrote, "Mississauga does its best to encourage them to move to Toronto."

The latest people that come to mind are the Trailer people. Yes, they were given lots of warning. Yes, it's legit --people have a right to sell their land for a profit.

There's all this bloated gushing about intensification and liveable, sustainable, vibrant cities. But people around here aren't valued as people and they're served differentially too.

One guy manages a personal audience with the mayor for his tax problem. Another man can't even get her to respond to a single letter. Why? If you have an answer, tell Antonio Batista.

I mean, fine, let the councillor suggest that the Cities Now infrastructure levy not be tied to property values but rathera levy per household.

But then don't sling some line later on about how a priority will be "better distribution of wealth".

Going back to the comment, "Mississauga does its best to encourage them to move to Toronto." I hope you didn't read that as an exclusively Mississauga thing.

When you think about it it's in the best interests of any municipality to attract and retain mostly the wealthy and educated.

Success Breeds Success just like the Rich get Richer.

That's the trouble with the poor, the vulnerable. High maintenance...

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

Muse...uh...you seem to have an awful lot of time on your hands....

Both my husband and I are retired only we're both busier than ever. Just finished a book --on sea turtles, that will be published by the University of Hawaiian Press. It's the story of a group of Hawaiian sea turtles that we've monitored since 1988. Longest underwater study in the world.

Now, we're using the similar techniques to observe human behaviour. That's how the City of Mississauga happened.

Thing is, if you've spent close to two decades being an Observer, you just can't stop. And comes a time when you're always on the Outside lookin' In.

Tough to stay objective --fell in love with the sea turtles and don't get me started about Council. But the rigour of research and the demands for accuracy, it's the same.

TONS OF TIME, actually. What I was telling you is the Council observatiom time --the data collection portion. The analysis takes a lot longer.

Municipal Governance --Absolutely addiictive.