The Conversation Piece

Public libraries have run on overdue fines and quiet-please rules for generations. Increasingly, more of them are dropping both—and discovering that connection, not silence, is what makes a place worth belonging to. Åsa...

Physical infrastructure can be seen. Relational infrastructure can only be felt—and it might be the difference between a park and a place worth belonging to. Jorge Garza is director of Networks for Change at the...

Beneath the noise of traffic, one Toronto space is quietly proving that conversation—not commerce—is what makes a neighborhood. Anna Gallagher-Ross is senior manager of programming at The Bentway, a public space beneath...

Housing is a human right we don't yet action—so what happens to belonging when your address depends on your bank account? Michelle Hoar is a fellow at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University...

<p>Conversations about accessibility are often framed around legislation and accommodations, but the stories we tell about disability can be equally powerful in shaping how accessibility is perceived and...

<p>Gender shapes how we move through the world, but the expectations attached to it can be limiting and exclusionary, most especially for trans and gender non-conforming people.</p><br><p>Comedian, writer, and singer...

<p>Cities are being asked to solve some of society’s biggest crises with limited resources and shrinking political authority. As pressure continues to mount on municipal governments, so do questions about who really...

<p>Wildfires expose how responsibility for public safety is shared—and sometimes fragmented—across systems that are not always designed to work together.</p><br><p>Chief Ken McMullen, president of the Canadian...

<p>Discussions around public safety tend to focus on questions of order and enforcement. In practice, however, public safety is also informed by our capacity to hold space for people in crisis instead of pushing them...

<p>For older adults, belonging is dependent on dignity, choice, and the ability to “age in the right place.”</p><br><p>André Picard is a health columnist at the Globe and Mail and the author of the bestselling book...

<p>First Nations elders play a vital role in their communities. Forcing them to relocate in the pursuit of adequate health care doesn’t just undermine their dignity—it severs key familial and cultural...

<p>Rural communities thrive when older adults are invited to remain visible within them.</p><br><p>Dr. Olive Bryanton is a researcher, advocate for older people, and lifelong learner who completed her PhD at the age of...

<p>How can we reframe aging as a lifelong process grounded in joy, rather than a fixed state of decline?</p><br><p>Dr. Rose Joudi is the senior adviser for gender equity, diversity, and inclusion at HelpAge Canada. This...

<p>Social media is built around rewards—a digital feedback loop of likes, shares, and comments. For teenagers, whose brains are still developing, the risks associated with those rewards may not be immediately...

<p>As the 2026 Winter Olympics continue and the Paralympics approach, a familiar narrative emerges, one of triumph through determination. But resilience isn’t forged by determination alone—it is shaped and sustained by...