Task 1: Where do I Live?
“Where do I live?” The answer to this
question makes a significant impact on every individual and for me that answer
is Mississauga: the 6th largest city in Canada and 3rd in
Ontario. Making up one of the three cities of the Peel region, Mississauga is
one of the most diverse cities I have seen, and these are not simply my words.
There are statistics to prove it. More than half of Peel’s population are
visible minorities making it the highest proportion in the GTA at 56.8%. It is
a constantly growing community both population wise and commercially bringing
its own benefits and challenges to the table.
The community of Mississauga has not changed too much since 2011, but a
significant point to highlight is the population count. The population of this
city has always been on the rise, and 2016 is not different. The population
most certainly increased, but it is the parentage by what it did that is
noteworthy. In the last five years, the population only increased by 1.1%, a significant
decrease from the last census report which was 6.7%. In fact, this has been the
lowest population increase in the last 35 years. This could be due to societal
change amongst the community. Many women are becoming more career minded and
would rather focus their attention towards these types of goals rather than
raising a family. Another factor to take into consideration is that everything
comes with a cost; so does a family. With inflation present, the cost of everything
goes up including the price to raise a large family. Despite this, the
population still rose, although less, and this could be due to the fact that
Mississauga is an increasingly thriving business hub. The economic and social
development for this community is an optimistic one which attracts businesses,
families, and industrial development. All these factors kept into consideration
can explain Mississauga’s population patterns.
Every community has its challenges, but looking at Mississauga, these
challenges are not specifically of much detrimental concern. Mississauga’s
demographics are both unique and diverse, and although this is a positive
factor it may also raise some potential issues. The Peel region which includes
Mississauga has the highest percentage of visible minorities in the GTA. This
means more cultures, ethnicities, and religions which can possibly create
community conflict. These conflicts may revolve around the construction and
location of cultural/religious institutions or places of worship. When it comes
to population in concern to age and sex the demographics are even and quite
well distributed as there is nearly an equal amount of males and females in
Mississauga. The statistical information for age groups shows a larger younger
population than older which usually does not pose much of a concern in a community
other than the issue of employment. With so many people with similar
credentials searching for a job, finding employment can become a struggle, and
with this struggle comes the threat of poverty in many people’s lives.
On the whole, the city of Mississauga has dealt with these possible
challenges in a constructive manner. When it comes to the issue of cultural and
religious conflict as 87% of this community does affiliate with a religious
group, its society has approached these differences in a very positive way. For
the most part everyone lives in peace and not only accepts, but appreciates
each other. Something to highlight though is that this tolerance and harmony
may also be due to the fact that majority of the population is a minority. Employment is certainly
an issue amongst the working and middle class, and anyone living in this
community today would say this. Especially with the recent minimum wage
increase finding a job is increasingly difficult as business owners want to cut
down their own costs. Despite this, the city of Mississauga has always expanded
its horizons and continues to do so today. The community has built its own
identity and has set itself commercially which, as mentioned before, attracts
business into the city rather than out. This attempt at commercialization is
hopefully a step closer to creating more jobs.
Comments
Post a Comment