Once a sleepy small-town residential enclave deep in the borough of North York, the area around Willowdale has evolved into a true "downtown" style core with a crowded skyline and large-scale shopping developments along Yonge Street. Mel Lastman Square - named after the former mayor of both North York and Toronto - is the public heart of this former borough and the centre of its business area. A few blocks west or east of Yonge returns to North York's traditional bungalow landscape that with the opening of Sheppard subway in 2002 has seen much growth.