There was a lot of talk about “swag” at the government management committee meeting at city hall Tuesday. The politicians tossing the term around were using it as a synonym for “branded merchandise.” Since swag in that sense generally means “freebies” (or the giveaway “Stuff We All Get” at events or conventions, as Michael Scott of the television show The Office famously said) and they were talking about selling stuff by establishing a gift and memorabilia shop at city hall, they were using it incorrectly.

Yet in another sense, it was the right word for the topic: the newest (already passé, you might say) common usage of swag is as a short form for “swagger,” and the newest addition to Toronto’s evolving reputation is that it has some. Part of the city’s newfound cool can be credited to Drake and the globe-dominating R&B and hip-hop scene he waves the 6 flag for. Part of it is probably the result of the bomb-blasting, bat-flipping Blue Jays of the past couple of seasons, and the underdog “We The North” Raptors playoff drive last year. Part of it is just the result of more than a decade of massive growth and evolution in the city, especially downtown, a pace of cosmopolitan change that inspires excitement. A more earnest local pride has been bubbling up in corners for a generation.

Whatever its component parts, this wave of pride has created a virtual industry in gear: T-shirts that say “Turonno” or “Toronto Versus Everybody”; iPhone cases with images of the streetcar engraved on them and cufflinks made of subway tokens; caps that say “The New Toronto” or “H6ME”; and, of course, those lapel buttons that show the tile patterns and names of subway stations. The list could go on — there have even been bidding wars on the city’s website for old street signs that have been taken down — but the point is there’s a market for Torontophenalia: Matt Blackett, creative director of Spacing, the magazine publisher and retail store that created those subway buttons, told the city committee meeting that his company has sold more than 750,000 of them since introducing them 12 years ago. (I should mention Blackett is a friend of mine and I have written for Spacing magazine in the past.)

Blackett said that if the city proceeds with a plan and seeks an operator for the store, his company would be interested in bidding, and the Spacing store on Richmond St. is a good example of what a civic gift shop can be: instead of just mass-produced CN Tower snow globes, it has toques bearing the names of neighbourhoods, books of local history, toys in the shape of streetcars, vintage TTC posters and die-cut coasters made of city street-grid maps. That the city’s government isn’t cashing in on this market may seem strange.

“There’s not a lot to be made, for the city,” Blackett warned candidly, speaking of dollars — and he’s likely quite right. Even the entire profit from 750,000 buttons that sell for $2 a piece is peanuts in a city where installing bike lanes costs almost $200,000 a kilometre. Former Rob Ford chief of staff Mark Towhey has suggested that to make real money rather than retail, the city should look at licensing its trademarks, and at the meeting this came up as a possibility. Indeed, when it comes to logos (not just municipal government ones, but police, fire department, and TTC logos — even Parks department logos, Mary Margaret McMahon suggested), the city should do exactly that. Which doesn’t mean it shouldn’t pursue a store, too.

There may not be a lot of cash in it. “But,” Blackett went on, “there’s a tremendous amount of value.” Apparently the committee at city hall agreed, because they voted to study the feasibility of the idea by November. About time.

Souvenirs and merchandise and other mementos — and indeed, books and archival photographs and other things that might be sold in a gift shop — are about more than just chasing the short money from tourists. They are about building and cementing the intangible “relationships” marketers constantly blather on about when they talk about branding, relationships with tourists and local residents alike. About giving people an outlet to enjoy and express an attachment, or a fond memory, to carry or wear a part of the city around with them or make it part of their home decor. People buying clothes or decor items make symbols of the city’s identity part of their expression of their own identity, and by doing so, contribute to the further development of the city’s identity.

There’s no better place for a shop that allows that to happen than city hall. The only question may be why it isn’t there already.