Sure, but my claim is that developers weren't going to build anything else on all those greenfields anyway, so Mississauga had little choice in the matter if it wanted to grow and link up the few established communities into something bigger.
We're kidding ourselves (and a lot of Mississaugans do) if we view the city as anything other than an outgrowth of Toronto proper. No planning in the world could've changed that fact and encouraged the kind of centralized urban development seen in standalone cities.
Even today, MCC can be considered an important node in the larger urban region, but Mississauga's true core will always be downtown Toronto. So to expect similar amenities and development in the periphery is unrealistic and to criticize their absence is absurd.
Agreed.
Why anyone thinks a suburban city like Miss that has about 700,000 people should be comparable to all the stuff a large urban city like Toronto (probably 3,000,000 people+) is insane. Also, Toronto has been around for 100 years. Miss has really only picked up in people and offices for maybe the last 30 years. Just 20 years ago, there was hardly anything even around the City Hall Sq 1 area.
If anyone wants to hang where the action is, they go to downtown Toronto. That 2-3 km radius from downtown where clubs, bars. theatre etc.... but no more. Or for less sizzle Yonge/Eglinton. In fact, for all the hoopla Toronto gets, about 95% of its land area is really no more fun or exciting than any suburb. It'll be residential housing after residential housing, coupled with strip malls and corner stores.
But one thing is for sure, the Toronto suburb will be a lot older, dirtier and cramped than any suburb city residential development. Have fun with narrow roads, parallel parking and monthly street permits..... make sure to move your car when the snow plows come. Its that downtown area party core where the fun is.
I'll hang out in downtown T.O a few times a week for the fun with buddies, but back to Miss for clean living, spaciousness and cleaner air.
Let Toronto have the action, but all the crime, bums and issues at the same time.
There's trade-offs between suburb cities and urban cores.