city building : Featured Stories

Hossein Rahnama is the brain behind Flybits, an award winning Ryerson-based company that is changing the way we communicate with our cities—and how our cities communicate with us. Context-aware computing may sound futuristic, but it's already here.

From Toronto to New York: International investors, especially American ones, are starting to invest in the city's most promising startups. We look at how Toronto's 500px scored its first investment and what that means for the city's ecosystem.

Faster computing and cheaper product development has created a booming culture of innovation in Toronto. This two part series takes a look at four sectors leading the way, starting with healthcare and cleantech.   

Rahul Bhardwaj talks about his five recommendations for a better Toronto and the one thread that ties them all together: that Toronto cannot solve any one problem on its own, we need to look at issues on a network level.

Lessons from Maximum City: responsiveness, not responsibility, is the key to teaching sustainability. Teachers and students agree youth need to play an active role in responsible citizenship, but it's the questions, not the terminology, that get results. 

It's no secret that councillors are divided on the issue of nightlife. Efforts are in place to regulate the number of clubs and bars in Parkdale, but embracing nightlife and considering the formation of a working group may be a better option, say club owners. 

The 2013 Vital Signs report indicates a city in rapid transition, bringing with it a new realm of opportunities and challenges. We summarize some of the findings in the first of many features dedicated to breaking down the issues outlined in the Vital Signs report. 

Local food means something different in Regent Park, a neighbourhood that is striving to make locally grown food a standard for its residents in an effort to support farmers and community wellness.

Yonge Street chats with 10-year-old environmental and social justice activist and future leader Hannah Alper, who will be speaking in front of 20,000 people at We Day on September 20. 

Natalie Panek may only be 28, but she's one of the few people in the country who can operate the Next Generation Canadarm. Now, she's on a mission to encourage more young girls to take risks and pursue careers in space. 

For Toronto startup Clear Blue Technologies, the future is the past. The company has turned to smart off-grid technology to wirelessly control solar and wind power via cloud computing. 

With its first title released on August 20, Ubisoft Toronto has a lot to celebrate. So does its neighbourhood, the Junction, which has developed progressively since the video game studio moved in back in 2009. 

Toronto refuses to incinerate its waste, though nearby Peel Region has been doing it for years and York Region is now stepping on board. Is it time for the city to revisit its stance on incinerators?

Creative placemaking has helped transform Queen West, but what could it do for Canada? We look to America and explore five American cities that have benefited from a nationwide funding program that has pumped millions into the arts.