City Building : Featured Stories

Many newcomers are attracted to Canada by the promise of a green environment. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority is making sure the brightest and best of them can do their part.

A wine company whose profits go to charities has come up with an ingenious way to engage consumers in giving. Could the model work elsewhere?

The vice president and managing director of New York's Municipal Art Society returns to her old stomping ground for our October 11 Yonge Talks panel on the Toronto Community Foundation's new Vital Signs report. We talked to her about the city's growth spurt and how she thinks Toronto can build on its success. 

Our new chief planner has joined the city's building boom mid-party. But Jennifer Keesmaat's Toronto-loving pro-pedestrian approach might be what we need to liven things up.

Each year the Toronto Community Foundation releases its Vital Signs report, which provides a snapshot of the health of the city across 11 issue areas, ranging from safety and housing to health, wellness and the gap between rich and poor. The report flags both the progress Toronto has made on these issues and the challenges the city continues to face. At our free October 11 Yonge Talks event, sponsored by the Toronto Community Foundation, president and CEO Rahul Bhardwaj will present key Vital Signs findings and discuss them with special out-of-town guest Mary Rowe of the Municipal Art Society of New York.

After Yonge Street's two panels this summer on affordable housing, we asked attendee Kenneth Hale of the Advocacy Centre for Tenants-Ontario to write about the Charter challenge the group is making on behalf of people who are struggling to obtain adequate housing. Here's his argument.

The transformation of Malvern has meant more than just reclaiming it from gang violence. Bringing people together around food and green spaces has been an integral ingredient. 

Ontario's Pan/Parapan American Games won't just be showcasing athletic and organizational prowess. They'll be putting the breadth and dynamism of the GTA's population on the world stage.

With so much new construction in the last few years, it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Our Development Editor Bert Archer picks five projects worth a closer look (including one you can't look at yet).

In our second session on affordable housing, passionate thought leaders brainstormed how to improve the quantity—and quality—of affordable housing in Toronto.

Delegates from Philadelphia here to learn from Toronto's brightest and best see a side of the city that its inhabitants might not.

At our June 21 event on affordable housing, panelists and attendees connected the dots between market forces, transit, and government and charitable contributions. There were no silver bullets, but lots of great ideas taking us into round #2.

During our June 21 event, we heard from our panel of experts on Toronto's housing situation. In the next step, participants will get their say as we try to move forward on affordable housing solutions. You're invited to join the discussion. The Yonge Street Speakers Series is sponsored by Toronto Community Foundation.

The moderator of Yonge Street's June 21 panel on affordable housing thinks we've lost our mojo—and that we can get it back.

Fitting more people into Toronto doesn't have to mean building up. The city's alleyways are full of real estate opportunities, if only the city could figure out the best way of servicing them.