City Building : Featured Stories

SummerWorks has moved to the Ossington Strip, one of the city's biggest cultural hubs. We talk to the festival's Artistic Producer about how the arts have changed and shaped the neighbourhood since he first moved there in 2002. 

A swath of beautification and accessibility initiatives are inspiring Torontonians to get back down to the lake. From revitalization projects to clean beach efforts and residential expansions, the lake is once again becoming an attractive feature for locals. 

Local SPIN-farmers are using small plots of land to grow fresh produce in urban environments. The movement supports eating locally, all while creating jobs and taking advantage of underused backyards. 

We may not have our own Japantown, but the GTA has more than 700 Japanese restaurants in the region. Now, with eastern North America's first sake brewery, Toronto may become a leader in a new, hungrier breed of Japanese culture. 

As Toronto prepares for this weekend's Pride parades and next year's World Pride festival, Church Street takes steps to maintain its LGBT identity into the future with the launch of the Village Study. 

A group of music industry veterans and city councillors unveiled their campaign to rebrand Toronto as "Music City" at last week's interactive NXNEi conference. The 4479 Toronto campaign aims to promote Toronto as one of the world's best music destinations all while boosting tourism, funding, and opportunities for musicians. 

Ryan Dyment, co-founder of the Tool Library and soon-to-be-unveiled Toronto Timebank, opens up about the Zeitgeist movement, leaving the rat race, and his vision for a resource-based economy. 

From old to new, St. Clair West is a neighbourhood in transition. While the right-of-way streetcar plan continues to divide the area, businesses are growing and the streets are becoming more beautiful. The common thread? The community itself. 

The Distillery District is one of the city's historical gems and just one of many areas gearing up for Doors Open Toronto. We explore what makes its history so rich while gliding around the neighbourhood on Segways. 

It's legal in many parts of Canada and the U.S., but Toronto's decades-old ban on backyard chickens continues to ruffle the feathers of urban egg farmers. Is the ban forcing these farmers to literally take urban poultry underground?

The Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Foundation's legacy grants have helped 24 communities revitalize run down basketball courts, hockey rinks and soccer pitches--giving youth a safe neighbourhood place to increase self-esteem, develop team building skills, get active and have fun.

Canada realizes a key to being competitive in the startup world is to attract talented immigrants. Mejuri is one Toronto startup that represents a growing number of new Canadians that are launching companies and impacting the city and beyond. 

Yonge Street visits D.A. Morrison Middle School at Danforth and Woodbine to learn how two teachers are making education accessible (and possible) for at-risk youth through an innovative Hip Hop literacy program, one of several programs throughout the city.

Take the Lakeshore west far enough and eventually you'll reach Oakville's waterfront strip, one of the best in the GTA. Described as a mix between Yorkville and Niagara-on-the-Lake, its unique mix of cafes, shops and people make it a great example of an urban strip that caters to everyone.

Graeme Dymond has turned his love of lego into a career. After winning a highly competitive national contest to become the master builder at the new Legoland Discovery Centre in Vaughan Mills, he talks about the new development and his new job as a professional kid.