Sunnyside
Active Member
People can bring whatever stats they want, but for one reason or another Mississauga sees itself as a city moreso than most suburbs, and that cultural perception is not going away. Is it founded in some fundamental spatial reality? Not really, but its large size and singular administration for so many people make ‘Sauga feel seperate, and that’s all there is to it. Politics has furthered this to its benefit.
Tossing in my two cents here… if you want to point at one or two things that does actually indicate Sauga is more independent than another mere suburb, I think these do exist:
1. First is Pearson and the associated employment ‘mega zone’ to the NE. Having a very large, distinct jobs agglomeration (not really a ‘centre’ given how sprawling it is) means a lot of residents don’t go into Toronto, and alot of people actually come in. Ditto w/ Brampton; many suburbs are closer to the core, but haven’t sprawled nearly as far from it. The census/MTO has lots of data to support these findings too.
2. This leads into the second factor- Mississauga is effectively not an outer suburb. The airport megazone has pulled the ‘centre of gravity’ for the GTHA west, making Sauga ‘central’ for commuters in Oakville, Milton, Brampton, Vaughan etc. In fact, I doubt these places would be as developed as they are if Sauga+YYZ didn’t have the jobs to draw and incite growth. It becomes self fulfilling.
On that note, I’ll just say Mississauga is almost like Brooklyn. It wouldn’t be here without Toronto (ie, Manhattan) but it has captured enough employment to have its own gravity within the region itself, which is not easy to do. As @sixrings reminds us all, there is no Line 2 in Sauga- but perhaps that’s because demand is less than it would be if Sauga wasn’t independent on some level. What people feel is this reality, which some politicians recognize and put into words.
Editing for brevity;
Fin
Tossing in my two cents here… if you want to point at one or two things that does actually indicate Sauga is more independent than another mere suburb, I think these do exist:
1. First is Pearson and the associated employment ‘mega zone’ to the NE. Having a very large, distinct jobs agglomeration (not really a ‘centre’ given how sprawling it is) means a lot of residents don’t go into Toronto, and alot of people actually come in. Ditto w/ Brampton; many suburbs are closer to the core, but haven’t sprawled nearly as far from it. The census/MTO has lots of data to support these findings too.
2. This leads into the second factor- Mississauga is effectively not an outer suburb. The airport megazone has pulled the ‘centre of gravity’ for the GTHA west, making Sauga ‘central’ for commuters in Oakville, Milton, Brampton, Vaughan etc. In fact, I doubt these places would be as developed as they are if Sauga+YYZ didn’t have the jobs to draw and incite growth. It becomes self fulfilling.
On that note, I’ll just say Mississauga is almost like Brooklyn. It wouldn’t be here without Toronto (ie, Manhattan) but it has captured enough employment to have its own gravity within the region itself, which is not easy to do. As @sixrings reminds us all, there is no Line 2 in Sauga- but perhaps that’s because demand is less than it would be if Sauga wasn’t independent on some level. What people feel is this reality, which some politicians recognize and put into words.
Editing for brevity;
Fin
Last edited:
