Noticing possibility in Mississauga City Centre

Mississauga City Centre is a “vertical suburb around a mall”, a “triumph of bad policy over logic”. Its own mayor calls it “boring”. These may all ring true, especially from behind a windshield or an infinite scroll.

But what truths might exist alongside these portrayals—truths that might help realize a more livable, more neighbourly community?

This walk is about the art of paying attention to possibility in Mississauga City Centre: possibility as it actually exists, as it waits for a slight nudge, and as it speaks to challenges faced by North American suburbs seeking to transition away from car dependency. It will feature conviviality in lesser-known parks and side streets, buried creeks waiting to be daylighted, and public facilities with the potential for civic activation.

A section of the walk will be devoted to Community Commons Park and the Living Arts Centre: two unique public spaces that are decried as “underutilized” by the present mayor and targeted for a $4 billion redevelopment.

Another section of the walk will feature civic spaces around Celebration Square: as they have been variously transformed for the better, closed off or hidden from the public, or wait for people and government to take pride in these places.