Comment 83059

By ViennaCafe (registered) | Posted November 20, 2012 at 17:40:26

/start rant

Yeah, there seems to be this sudden urge by the G&M to rehabilitate Mississauga's image. Mississauga is now looking at urban intensification because they have run out of room to sprawl. That is why if you visit Mississauga, in areas that once hosted farms and woodlots there are endless numbers of socio-economic enclaves developers call subdivisions. And, yes, with the new focus on intensification Mississauga's downtown has been discovered. And still at the heart of it is a huge parking lot with a mall. And, yes, Mississauga is building bicycle lanes that would put Hamilton to shame. True. But you can live in Hamilton without a car if you choose. It would be damned hard to do the same in Mississauga even if you lived downtown. Take a Google map view of Mississauga's "downtown" and imagine a night out without the car as you take in a movie and a meal at a big box restaurant which is almost all downtown Mississauga has to offer.

I've only been in Hamilton for about a year and I love it. I love the walkable neighbourhoods where front porches face the street as opposed to the asses of snout houses. I love that almost everywhere I can visit independent, locally owned restaurants that serves up something different than fat, salt, and corn. I love that Hamilton boasts a thriving local arts community that showcases all over the city and, very often, in those same local eating establishments. I love that Hamilton has history, and character and run down factories as opposed to just glass, steel, and endless clones of houses.

Yes, Hamilton has its problems one of which is an inability to move past the 1970s when it comes to cars, transportation, and urban development, But Hamilton is not unlike most other cities in North America that way. But I can tell you I'd rather live in Hamilton than Mississauga any day. Hamilton is a city. It has always been a city. Mississauga is a suburb and even if it can become the Canadian answer to Dubai, it will still lack a human soul.

/end rant

Comment edited by ViennaCafe on 2012-11-20 17:57:42

Permalink | Context

Events Calendar

There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?

Recent Articles

Article Archives

Blog Archives

Site Tools

Feeds