Reflections and Visions

Mississauga Urban Design Awards 2025

The awards celebrate excellent and innovative urban design projects that transform our community. All winners will be announced on Thursday, October 23.

Voting for the People’s Choice Award is now closed.

About the Awards

Great urban design connects people and places. It reflects who we are, inspires how we live, and helps shape a thriving future. That’s why the City of Mississauga is proud to celebrate excellence in design. We know that our city’s growth isn’t the result of chance—it’s built through careful and ambitious design that deserves recognition.

Since 1981, the Mississauga Urban Design Awards have honoured projects that raise the bar—projects that transform our shared spaces and reinforce our city as a leader in innovation, cultural richness and progressive planning.

Each edition has a unique theme that reflects today’s priorities and tomorrow’s vision. The 2025 theme, “Reflections and Visions,” honours past achievements while looking ahead to future opportunities for growth and transformation.

Submissions open until April 25

Jury announced

People’s Choice Award voting opens

People’s Choice Award voting closed

Winners announced

Award winners stand shoulder to shoulder nationally and internationally, and are recognized for excellence in design.

Types of awards

The Mississauga Urban Design Awards is a biennial program that recognizes three awards of distinction. Over the next few months, the distinguished jury will review all projects submitted for consideration. Following the review process, the jury will bestow the awards of each category, if any, at their discretion.

Award of Excellence

Given to projects that demonstrate excellence across all judging criteria

Award of Merit

Given to projects that demonstrate excellence in one or more of the judging criteria

Healthy by Design

Given to projects that exemplify the six Healthy Community Design elements

The Mississauga Urban Design Awards includes a People’s Choice Award. This award is given to the project voted by the public as its favourite design project.

People’s Choice Award

Given to the project that receives the most votes from the public through online voting.

The jury

The jury will select the recipients of the Award of Excellence, Award of Merit, and Healthy By Design.

Ute Maya-Giambattista

Principal, O2 Planning and Design

Ute is a Principal of Urban Design at O2 Planning and Design with over 20 years of industry experience. As a member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and the Canadian Institute of Planners, she leads projects across Canada and internationally.
Ute’s work focuses on creating healthier communities through designs that balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability—from local masterplans to city-wide strategies.

Ayako Kitta

Associate Partner, DTAH

Ayako is a landscape architect with more than 20 years of experience in North America and Japan. She leads diverse public realm and urban design projects from concept to completion, ensuring high-quality, inclusive results.

She serves on the Mississauga Urban Design Review Panel and holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Toronto.

Laura Di Fiore

Architect and Visual Artist

Laura works at the intersection of urban design, architecture, and public art. She has contributed to award-winning projects in London, New York, Montreal, and Toronto—all with a focus on vibrant, inclusive spaces.

Laura holds an Honours Bachelor of Architectural Studies from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Architecture from McGill University, where she received several honours, including the AIA Henry Adams Medal and the RAIC Honour Roll. As a passionate advocate for sustainability and wellness-focused design, Laura also serves on Mississauga’s Art Selection Committee.

Ted Watson

Partner, MJMA Architecture and Design

Ted is a Design Partner at MJMA, known for leading public building projects that blend bold design with civic, environmental, and pedestrian-focused goals.

Ted’s projects span across Canada, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, and have received more than 50 design awards, including three Governor General’s Medals, for advancing accessibility, sustainability, and innovation.

Paul Sharma

Director of the Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Division, Region of Peel

Paul leads Peel Public Healths’ work on chronic disease and injury prevention. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry and president of the Ontario Association of Public Health Dentistry (OAPHD). He also sits on the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) Board of Directors.

His public health career began dental hygienist in Toronto, caring for people living with HIV. He has also worked in dental hygiene education. Paul holds a Master of Science in Dental Public Health from King’s College, University of London.

Dipika Damerla

Councillor, Ward 7 Mississauga

Dipika was elected as Mississauga’s Ward 7 Councillor in 2018 after serving as MPP for Mississauga East-Cooksville. As a Cabinet Minister, she led initiatives in health care, long-term care, education, and public transit.

Before politics, Dipika worked in corporate banking and ran a small business in Mississauga. She holds an MBA in Finance from the Rotman School of Management.

Judging criteria

Every submission will be reviewed for excellence across several criteria, including:

Citywide significance

Considers whether the project contributes to the City’s design objectives as related to city image, visual identity, vistas, skyline, streetscapes, recognition of sites and location opportunities.

Community significance

Considers whether the project contributes to the quality of the environment within a community which demonstrates regard for the context of the locale, enhancing a sense of place, personal health, and safety, or reinforcing a unique history.

Living green

Considers whether the project demonstrates an integrated approach to design which supports environmental and sustainable site and building practices, while providing benefits to the community and supporting active modes of transportation, walkability and green infrastructure.

Innovation

Considers the degree of creative response to program requirements and site constraints, considering sustainable best practices, including LEED and Low Impact Development, with the ability to influence trends.

Context

Considers the relationship or blending of built form and spaces with existing and planned development, and respect for and enhancement of the area’s character.

Execution

Considers the quality of construction materials and the interpretation of design into reality and how it supports the City’s Strategic Plan and the five Strategic Pillars for Change:

Move: Developing a transit-oriented city
Belong: Ensuring youth, older adults and new immigrants thrive, ensure accessibility
Connect: Completing our neighbourhoods
Prosper: Cultivating creative and innovative businesses
Green: Sustainability and environmental considerations

Healthy by Design

Considers whether the project contributes to the creation of walkable, sustainable and complete communities by demonstrating inter-related healthy development elements: density, service proximity, land use mix, street connectivity, streetscape characteristics and parking.

“Design excellence is essential in shaping the identity of our places and raising the quality of life in our communities.”

Award categories

The Mississauga Urban Design Awards invites a broad range of submissions, including:

Urban elements

A standalone object, public artwork, small-scale building component or landscape element which contributes significantly to the quality of the public realm.

This includes infill housing, additions, public art on public or private lands, street furniture, light fixtures, canopies, signage, walkways, stairways, or other unique design element.

Private projects

A building or group of buildings in all types and scales that achieve urban design excellence and is precedent setting for a project of its type. Submissions should address how the project contributes to successful city-building through its contextual relationship, design quality and measures of sustainable and healthy design. Submissions may include residential, employment, commercial, mixed-use, heritage restoration and adaptive re-use buildings, parks, private open spaces, or plazas.

Public projects

A building or group of buildings that serve the public and are accessible to the public. All building types and scales are eligible.

This includes education, healthcare, recreation, cultural, community, civic buildings, heritage restoration and adaptive re-use buildings, bridges, parks, streetscape, public or private open spaces, plazas, landscaped areas, or stormwater facilities.

Contact us

If you have any questions, email us at urban.design@mississauga.ca.