One of four central business districts outside Downtown Toronto, it is bounded by Rathburn Road to the north, Islington Avenue to the east, Bloor Street to the south, Mimico Creek to the west.

Etobicoke was officially incorporated as a township in 1850, first using Montgomery's Inn for its meetings until the nearby original Methodist Church was purchased.

[citation needed] Urbanization began in central Etobicoke in the 1950s post war boom with growing residential areas in Islington and to the north and industrial growth to the south.

This led to Etobicoke's incorporation which separated from the County of York to form a part of the new Metropolitan Toronto in 1954, reincorporating the lakeshore municipalities into that level of government.

The physical segregation of Islington with the redesigning of the surrounding intersections on Dundas Street West (at Kipling Avenue and at Royal York Road) as well as Etobicoke Council's move in 1958 to a new complex beside the new Highway 427, limited the success of plans for the area to be developed as a western downtown.

Redevelopment of the Six Points Interchange and the Westwood Theatre lands by the Build Toronto agency began in March 2017 to create a mixed-use development.