X Marks the Spot

PHOTO: Roberta Bondar standing in front of a satellite photo of Mississauga.

Last night's portion of Our Future Mississauga featured Roberta Bondar and Tim Jones.

Unfortunately, Mayor Hazel McCallion had a hard time remembering that.

In her concluding statement, in which she thanked the speakers and the audience, McCallion referred to Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space, as Robert. Not once, but twice.

The first time, I thought I misheard the mayor. Even after the second time, I thought I must have heard wrong. I wasn't the only one who heard it, though. After Hazel's thank-yous, Roberta Bondar stood up, looked at her fellow presenter Tim Jones, and said, with a puzzled look on her face, "Robert?"

My older colleagues here at The News assure me this isn't a new development, and that McCallion's slip-up cannot be blamed on her age. She has, I'm told, been known for messing up names for more than 20 years.

But, on to the night's content.

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To be honest, there wasn't much content. At least, not much reportable content. Unlike the week before when Stephen Lewis said we need more universities and Glen Murray mused about gondolas crossing the city on wires above the street, this week, both speakers presented generalities that weren't particularly interesting to listen to.

Bondar, who, it turns out, was part of the Great Mississauga Evacuation of 1979, said we should become an environmentally-literate citizenry.

I think that's a great idea, but, unfortunately, it's a really boring idea to talk about.

She did say something interesting: "Everybody wanted to get to the moon, but once we got to the moon, what was the best picture we had? Looking back at the Earth."

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There were roughly 550 people in the audience yesterday. I was told the week before, for the Stephen Lewis talk, there were 900 people (though it didn't look like 900 people to me).

Justin Trudeau, speaking on Nov. 6, is expected to pack the place.

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Tim Jones is the CEO of Toronto-based Artscape. He spends his life exploring the relationship between creativity and place.

He told us we need more artists, and maybe a bold project or two. The bold project should probably come first, giving the city an identity.

Identity probably isn't something most people think about on a daily basis, but it is important to giving citizens a sense of belonging. Bold projects give that sense. When you think of great cities, you think of their bold projects. The Eiffel Tower. The Sydney Opera House. The Statue of Liberty and The Empire State Building. The canals of Venice. The CN Tower.

People want to see bold projects. They travel to see them. They want to live near them.

"What you're talking about," said Jones, "is a shift in mindset in how you see your city and how others see your city."

Star architecture critic Christopher Hume wrote about the yet-to-be-built Marilyn Monroe-inspired towers going up on the northeast corner of Hurontario and Burnhamthorpe. He put it well.

"Despite McCallion's boast (about being debt-free), hers is a city desperately in need of an identity that goes beyond its lack of debt. You get what you pay for, of course, and in Mississauga that's been precious little. But that's old news. What's interesting this time is that the private sector has moved in to fill the void left by officialdom. What McCallion and her council have failed to provide - namely a place where there's a there there - will now be addressed by a development consortium."

There is talk, of course, that this whole Our Future Mississauga thing, which will result in some sort of Council-endorsed plan for the next 40 years, is a way for Hazel to create her legacy. A legacy beyond simply being debt free. A legacy people will remember. A legacy that will make Mississauga into a place people want to be.

So, a bold project is necessary. Tim Jones thinks the Monroe towers could be the impetus for more bold projects.

He called the plans for the main tower "eye-poppingly beautiful."

"It raises the bar to a whole new level...and is a symbol of Mississauga rethinking itself."

He added, "You should do everything you can do to get more Marilyn Monroes."

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The next talk is Justin Trudeau's on Nov. 6. With Jan Gehl following on Nov. 13. For more information, visit www.conversation21.ca.

Once the talks are finished, there will be a pause for a couple of months. Then, between February 1 and 3, there will be a "visioning symposium," in which the public can come down and see plans and discuss ideas raised by the speakers.