Mississauga information hub: Mapping Datasets

NRU
Nov. 2, 2016
Leah Wong

The City of Mississauga has launched a new digital portal that enables users to easily search through planning-related data and to track planning decisions.

The Planning Information Hub maps datasets—including building permits, growth forecasts, development applications, census data, land uses and environmental natural areas—across the city and shows visualizations of developments that are underway.

“Data and information are a strategic part of our department,” Mississauga information and planning manager Steve Czajka told council last week. “We have an enormous appetite for information, we consume it regularly, we base planning decisions upon it and we produce information as part of our daily operations.”

The hub serves as a centralized information system that can be accessed online. Ward 7 councillor Nando Iannicca told council last week that planning initiatives, such as the information hub, improve residents’ understanding of planning decisions.

“It is marvelous to see initiatives like this, and others that lead us to not have to explain the why anymore. In the past when I’ve gone to meetings [residents ask], ‘why are you building this next to me,’” said Iannicca. “We don’t need to explain it as much anymore because people are getting it.”

Through a series of overlays the hub mapping shows interrelationships among initiatives. For example, it shows the Sheridan College Master Plan occurring within the boundaries of the city’s Downtown 21 Master Plan.

Iannicca said this overlay enables residents to see the relationships among major city initiatives, such as the Hurontario LRT, Dundas Connects and Vision Cooksville, and development that is occurring in the city. “[Residents] will realize that’s why the LRT is going in where it is.”

When users first access the hub they are directed to a database of all the projects—about 300—that have been recognized with design awards by the city since the 1980s. Czajka said the site allows users to see images of all the award-winning projects, and notes where they are located, when they were designed and the firms associated with the project.

Before the end of the year a business directory containing information about around 26,000 businesses will be added to the hub.