wyliepoon
Senior Member
That is what I would call a downtown for Streetsville, if done right as a starting point.
If that's the ideal suburban downtown, then there's a lot of hope for Downtown Markham...
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Globe: Mississauga enters new phase of city-building
- Thread starter unimaginative2
- Start date
If that's the ideal suburban downtown, then there's a lot of hope for Downtown Markham...
doady
Senior Member
Mississauga is denser than any of those cities. It is also less car-dependent and has higher transit ridership than all of them, except London.
It is funny that you specifically mention Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge, considering that the region is one of the sprawliest, most car-dependent and decentralized metropolitan areas in Canada, as bad as the worst US metropolitan areas like Phoenix and Houston.
Somehow high-rise condos and office buildings are not quite what I picture when I think "American Dream".
doady
Senior Member
Streetville could have been a start of a good downtown, but instead of putting in a town square, they built a monstrosity of a shopping centre to the north. It would have been better if they had built shops on the first floor with offices and residences above them like this:
That is what I would call a downtown for Streetsville, if done right as a starting point.
There is already a town square in Streetsville.
But still, Streetsville is not accessible enough to be Mississauga's downtown.
adma
Superstar
Ah, trust those Euros to outdo the Americans at "American style" urbanism
androiduk
Senior Member
Ah, trust those Euros to outdo the Americans at "American style" urbanism
I lived in La Defense for 3 months in 06 and they did a pretty decent job of creating a mixed self sustaining environment. There are a few things that need tweaking but overall it worked very well. From what I've seen Markham is on the right track, Mississauga will probably never get what they were looking for unless they start closing streets or reducing their size.
khris
Senior Member
Walkable core key to vibrant downtown: planners
By: Julia Le
jle@mississauga.net
Staff photo by Daniel Ho
Ian Lockwood, a principal and senior transportation engineer with Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Inc., shares ideas at the Master Plan Launch and Idea Exchange: What Makes a Great Downtown meeting held last night at the Living Arts Centre.
Creating a walkable downtown core was at the top of everyone's list last night at a public engagement session held to garner residents' input into Mississauga's future.
More than 200 people filled the Living Arts Centre's Hammerson Hall for the forum, dubbed Master Plan Launch and Idea Exchange: What Makes a Great Downtown.
Residents listened to Downtown21, a consulting team comprised of urban strategists, designers, planners and architects that offered suggestions on how to create a vibrant downtown core.
The team was hired to help the City of Mississauga devise a plan that nurtures a vibrant, walkable and compact downtown area filled with shops, outdoor cafes, public squares, urban parks and other critical amenities.
Ian Lockwood, a principal and senior transportation engineer with Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Inc., said residents need to look at the "bare bones" of Mississauga's land use.
He said people need to use the sparse spaces, get out of their cars and create other transportation options such as cycling and walking.
Building a "highly connected city," Lockwood says, means everyone has to pull together to make it happen.
Ken Greenberg, an architect and urban designer, said residents and planners need to work together to expand the public realm.
"Creating those public spaces where people can gather to learn from each other and comfort each other, where ideas take place in chance conversations, (is needed)," said the former director of urban design and architecture for the City of Toronto.
Greenberg said many Mississauga parking lots have great potential to be converted into parks, outdoor markets or specialty shops.
Glen Murray, an urban strategist and president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute, said Mississauga needs to keep pace with urbanization.
The former mayor of Winnipeg said innovation, a re-purposing of some industries and tapping into the pool of diverse people and cultures are needed to showcase the city.
"What are the values of the community? Does it have vibe and does it have the courage to create virtuosity?" he asked the crowd. "Culture and identity drive the kinds of successful places where people want to live."
Still, some in attendance were skeptical about the likelihood of changing the city core.
They were told by the team of consultants that action plans and goals will soon be in place to better involve the private sector and the public in improving Mississauga's downtown.
Another public session is slated for March 12, at 6 p.m., at the LAC.
Source
By: Julia Le
jle@mississauga.net
Staff photo by Daniel Ho
Ian Lockwood, a principal and senior transportation engineer with Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Inc., shares ideas at the Master Plan Launch and Idea Exchange: What Makes a Great Downtown meeting held last night at the Living Arts Centre.
Creating a walkable downtown core was at the top of everyone's list last night at a public engagement session held to garner residents' input into Mississauga's future.
More than 200 people filled the Living Arts Centre's Hammerson Hall for the forum, dubbed Master Plan Launch and Idea Exchange: What Makes a Great Downtown.
Residents listened to Downtown21, a consulting team comprised of urban strategists, designers, planners and architects that offered suggestions on how to create a vibrant downtown core.
The team was hired to help the City of Mississauga devise a plan that nurtures a vibrant, walkable and compact downtown area filled with shops, outdoor cafes, public squares, urban parks and other critical amenities.
Ian Lockwood, a principal and senior transportation engineer with Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Inc., said residents need to look at the "bare bones" of Mississauga's land use.
He said people need to use the sparse spaces, get out of their cars and create other transportation options such as cycling and walking.
Building a "highly connected city," Lockwood says, means everyone has to pull together to make it happen.
Ken Greenberg, an architect and urban designer, said residents and planners need to work together to expand the public realm.
"Creating those public spaces where people can gather to learn from each other and comfort each other, where ideas take place in chance conversations, (is needed)," said the former director of urban design and architecture for the City of Toronto.
Greenberg said many Mississauga parking lots have great potential to be converted into parks, outdoor markets or specialty shops.
Glen Murray, an urban strategist and president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute, said Mississauga needs to keep pace with urbanization.
The former mayor of Winnipeg said innovation, a re-purposing of some industries and tapping into the pool of diverse people and cultures are needed to showcase the city.
"What are the values of the community? Does it have vibe and does it have the courage to create virtuosity?" he asked the crowd. "Culture and identity drive the kinds of successful places where people want to live."
Still, some in attendance were skeptical about the likelihood of changing the city core.
They were told by the team of consultants that action plans and goals will soon be in place to better involve the private sector and the public in improving Mississauga's downtown.
Another public session is slated for March 12, at 6 p.m., at the LAC.
Source
ganjavih
Senior Member
Since talk of urbanising Mississauga began many years ago, I haven't seen anything to suggest any improvement.
khris
Senior Member
Ya it's just not happening. Lots of talk and promises, but so far very slow to come to fruition.
jeicow
Active Member
On-street parking along Burnhamthorpe (and the removed right hand turn lane), the removed right hand turn island, bike lanes along Confederation, Confederation bridge pedestrianized bridge, street retail in new buildings (including the popular Second Cup in the Capital Tower North)... things are slowly beginning to change.
khris
Senior Member
That Second Cup is the worst coffee shop I've ever been in. The back portion is a plain square white room.
syn
Senior Member
I would agree.
I'd also say London has a far better downtown than Mississauga, which was probably the real point.
Dan416
Senior Member
MCC is a work-in-progress. For the downtown feel, many Mississaugans choose the preamalgamation towns (still). Port Credit, Streetsville, those are places you can make a day out of. MCC is good for Square One and that's it (thus far). But don't you all worry. We have two more MCC's coming! VCC has barely started, and it's already getting a subway! Imagine that! And now Markham wants to build a downtown too? Suddenly urbanization has got popular!
scarberiankhatru
Senior Member
Markham started building its downtown in the 80s, around the same time Mississauga started (though Mississauga already had a mall and some offices on the site). Their civic centres were built only two years apart.
jeicow
Active Member
I never thought of that. Tim Hortons seems like MoMA compared to it.
adma
Superstar
And the interesting thing, considering Markham's subsequent New Urbanist predilections, is that the Markham Civic Centre had the more "suburban" setting of the two...