Lifestyle Centres: A Planner‘s Dream Or Nightmare? A Case Study Of The Shops At Don Mills

Outlined in the Central Don Mills Secondary Plan, the Don Mills Centre is intended to function as a commercial and community centre to the Don Mills neighbourhood. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the Shops at Don Mills serves the local community or does it provide other functions? If so, what are these functions? This study looks at demographics in the area, retailers, policy and legislation, and the function of lifestyle centres in general to determine if the Shops at Don Mills is well integrated into the community. Three objectives are identified in order to address the research questions presented in this study. The first objective is to determine if lifestyle centres are designed for community and commercial purposes. The second objective is to identify the social makeup of Don Mills. The final objective is to examine present retailers at the Shops at Don Mills to determine the users of the centre and whether it functions as the commercial and community centre to the Don Mills neighbourhood.