Inspiration Lakeview

Urban Strategies led a multi-disciplinary team to create a visionary concept plan for the former Lakeview Generating Station lands known as the ‘four sisters’. The site offers a rare opportunity to create new open spaces and a new community while unifying the City’s waterfront. To achieve this objective, our team drew on its expertise in urban design, land use planning, mixed use development, policy, public consultation and sustainability.

The cornerstone of our approach to developing the Visionary Concept Plan for Mississauga’s Lakeview was an engaging and intensive community symposium called the Lakeview Sessions. The Lakeview Sessions engaged the City, area stakeholders and various segments of the population through a variety of activities, including invited guest speakers, small group breakout sessions, focused design charettes, physical modeling and other strategies, including online social media engagement. The outcome of the Lakeview Sessions was a Vision for the site, which was achieved by educating and engaging the community to develop principles that form the framework for the Vision. The Vision produced is not only transformative and supported by all involved, but also implementable and grounded in the realities of the site. Watch a time lapse of one of the sessions here.

The Visionary Concept Plan for the Eastern Shorefront was developed based on the Vision principles. The Plan addresses the physical elements of the site: land use, transportation, municipal servicing and energy, natural areas, parks and open spaces including the lakeshore, ways to commemorate the site’s rich cultural heritage, and the preferred approach to creating a sustainable future for Lakeview, both environmentally and economically. The Visionary Concept Plan  also includes an Implementation Strategy and Action Plan, which outlines the steps and considerations necessary to translate the Vision into reality.