I live in Toronto, and my understanding is that Mississauga's budget surplus is largely due to lot levies paid by property developers. Building a new house mea

I live in Toronto, and my understanding is that Mississauga's budget surplus is largely due to lot levies paid by property developers. Building a new house means paying around $20k in infrastructure fees (for new roads, sewers, etc.) Most of the development of Mississauga happened from the 1970s onwards, so they are still in the honeymoon. I've talked to urban planning students about this, and the general consensus seems to be that they are going to be fucked when the time comes to start maintaining and replacing the infrastructure. It's not quite as bad as some of the urban sprawl in the USA (I've seen Cleveland), but still a textbook example of short-term planning and unsustainable development.