Articles
Following the Money at City Hall
by Don McLean – More than two decades ago I started reviewing the campaign donation lists that municipal candidates file…
Gathering Again to Celebrate Community
by Mohamad Bsat – The run community thrives on the ability to gather. Runners have been gathering for hundreds of…
Queer Times and Spaces in Downtown Hamilton
by James Diemert – To many in my age group, and older, these spaces were once the centre of our…
Doors Open Hamilton – Reduce, Reuse, Reopen
by Sarah Sheehan – After two years of the pandemic, Doors Open Hamilton is back with a celebration of the…
A Microcosm of the City’s Μissed Οpportunities
by Daniela Giulietti – The market is, of course, not what I remember as a kid – bustling and noisy…
Downtown Schools Deserve More Outdoor Space
by Tarek Jalbout – In addition to Queen Vic’s diverse population, it also has the smallest outdoor play area of…
Our School Board is Integral to a Healthy Municipal Ecosystem
by Sabreina Dahab and Ahona Mehdi – Schools and local school boards are critical aspects of a broader ecosystem that…
When the Development Bubble Bursts
by Olga Kwak – Is it the government’s responsibility to ensure that when there is a major remodel to a…
Our Downtown’s Future is for Everyone
by Chris Ritsma – Hamilton saw a record-breaking $2 billion in construction permits in 2021. This is the first time…
We Need Housing Justice Now
by Katie King – Just last week, steps away from my home, people residing in Gage Park were given an…
Historical Landscapes of Politics and Industry in Strathcona
by Chris Erl – It was early in the evening on March 26, 1878. The cool air of early spring…
Turning Out the Vote Has the Potential for Big Change
by IELECT Hamilton – If you live in Wards 1, 2, or 3 and you voted in the 2018 municipal…
What Coexisting with Urban Trees Can Teach Us About Our City
by Lesia Mokrycke – As I move through the streets speaking with members of the community about cherished old growth…
Putting the Rail Back in the Hamilton Street Railway
by Ian Borsuk – Over the coming years downtown Hamilton will be going through disruptive but transformative change as the…
Proud to Celebrate 50 Years of the DNA
by Janice Brown – I am proud to be part of the Association’s legacy that started in the early 70s…
Reflecting on a Year of Beautiful Surprises
by Cameron Kroetsch – As we approach the first anniversary of the Downtown Sparrow, I thought it would be a…
The Existential Crisis of Governing
by Kojo Damptey – The City of Hamilton has seen enormous change in the last decade and income disparities are…
Is Hamilton Doomed to Repeat Its Past Mistakes?
by Matt Grande – The 1960s’ vision of “progress” was much simpler than today’s. A growing population demanded more cars,…
Living Downtown is a Source of Comfort and Support
by Deanna Allain – Buying a locally brewed coffee, thinking local when shopping for gifts for the holidays, adding an…
Looking Beyond Housing as Shelter Alone
by Mary Lou Tanner – We must go well beyond the traditional approaches as we look at housing for all…
Finding Collective Care in Unexpected Places
by Meredith Park and Claire Peace – A couple years back, a friend posted on Facebook that they wanted to…
Keeping the Lights Out Downtown to Save Our Birds
by Barry Coombs and Sara Shwadchuck – A thriving bird population is essential for biodiversity and a healthy climate. Birds…
A New Hamilton Built on Imagination
by Mary Love – A liveable city must have a downtown and other neighbourhoods that have a lively and accessible…
The Burdens of Climate Change are Not Felt Equally
by Sophie Geffros – In the city of Hamilton, the neighbourhoods which make up our downtown core are most vulnerable…
More Than a Run Crew
by Mohamad Bsat – Running has all this folklore about running solo and books that romanticize that time alone, but…
Taking a Tour Around Steeltown
by Jamie Stuckless – Moving at a slower speed can make it easier to take in your surroundings and see…
Slowing Down Streets in the Corktown Neighbourhood
by Slowdown Corktown Initiative – Reckless driving has become an increasingly present and frustrating part of living in Corktown, but…
Our Neighbourhoods Have Become Sacrifice Zones
by Tanya Ritchie – It can’t possibly be as bad as we say, right? Because if we’re telling the truth…
Light Rail Transit Brings A New Wave of Gentrification to Hamilton
by Taras Hemon – In my view, the LRT signifies to investors and developers that Hamilton is prepared for the…
Community Benefits Can Help Us Keep Up With Our Changing City
by Karl Andrus – Now that the LRT project is once again moving full steam ahead, HCBN is looking forward…
Keeping Track of City Council’s Failures
by Ryan Moran – It is both easy, and not terribly enjoyable, to keep running annual tallies of everything our…
Love and Empathy over Colonial Gloating
by Jordan Carrier – At the end of May 2021 Canada entered into a reckoning when it was announced that…
A Plea for Stewardship in Hamilton
by Candy Venning – We are nature. It’s not outside us, we are part of a complete ecosystem whether you…
Rejecting the Politics of Cynicism and Disposability
by Summer Thomas and Alex Wilson – Rather than standing up for our city or addressing the flaws in the…
Summer is the Season for Parks, and Park Renewal
by Jason Allen – It’s the season for park renewal. Summer is in full swing and it feels like many…
The Park That Isn’t
by Maggie Martineau – For years I walked through the park on a daily basis. On my way to work…
Community Organizing During COVID
by IELECT Hamilton – Our first meeting was held on a cold, dark, January night, not the most hospitable weather…
Loving the Run You’re With
by Scott Fairley – I am a runner, but also a Hamiltonian (albeit a transplanted one from Burlington). Those two…
Debunking the Promises of Bus Rapid Transit
by Sean Hurley – Whenever the on-again, off-again Hamilton LRT debate is on-again, invariably a suburban politician will counter with…
Defending Affordable Housing in Hamilton’s North End
by Gordon N. Smyth and Hamilton ACORN – While there is no good time to be displaced, a global pandemic…
Reflecting on the Loss of Our Downtown Spaces
by Steacy Easton – As a writer and an artist in Hamilton, it feels like small venues, small galleries, and…
Better Planning and Building Make All the Difference
by Wayne MacPhail – The City needs to plan better. Developers need to build better. Hamilton deserves better. Compliance with…
What Density and Suburban Sprawl Mean to a City Dweller
by Nancy Hurst – Let’s talk about density for a moment. Remember chemistry class with the illustrations of a beaker…
Wandering Our Downtown Spaces Without A Destination
by Michael Allgoewer – For many years now, I have been walking everywhere, especially in the downtown core of Hamilton…
An Opportunity for Safe Cycling in Downtown Hamilton
by Chris Ritsma – When the pandemic seemed to stall during the summer of 2020, I decided to explore something,…
Cleaning up During a Pandemic, One Alleyway at a Time
by Frances Murray and Brenda Duke – Everyone was looking forward to joining other community members to clean up alleys…
Surviving as a Small Business During COVID-19
by Cooper Watts – I had just finished tattooing a couple who had come to my shop from Barrie. They…
The Ups and Downs of Hosting Community Events during the Pandemic
by Christina Babcock – Saturday, February 15, 2020 was a beautiful sunny and mild winter’s day. Perfect for the annual…
Gentrification, Housing, and Hamilton’s Real Estate State
by Angela Orasch – A long-time Barton street bar, Nobody’s Perfect, has a “for sale” sign in its window. Bars…
Working Together to Support Hamilton’s Encampment Residents
by Hamilton Encampment Support Network – As Defund HPS’ action, since dubbed “Freedom Camp,” came to an end in late…
Our Children Deserve Safe and Liveable Streets
by Beatrice Ekoko – In the early 60s, Beach Boulevard was a thundering truck route, even though the Burlington Skyway,…
How a Heritage Inventory Project became an Epic Conservation Journey
by Carol Priamo – On June 3, 2020, while the Pandemic was gaining traction and we were all in a…
Network of Greenways will Connect our Downtown Neighbourhoods
by Ryan McGreal – Hamilton might be getting a new type of cycling infrastructure as soon as this year. Ward…
Heritage is Much More than Bricks and Mortar
by Graham Crawford – There are examples all over downtown Hamilton of significant heritage buildings, some of which are very…
Sprawl Sucks the Life out of Our Downtown
by Don McLean – Downtown Hamilton has been on a roller coaster ride over the last 50 years and it…
Plans for the Knitting Mills Just Don’t Add Up
by Jessie Golem – With so many unfinished projects left abandoned, and with such a high price tag on the…
Urban Forests are Essential to our Quality of Life
by Juby Lee and Jon Davey – Balancing these climate emergency needs for more intensified development within existing urban boundaries…
Political Will is Needed to Help Public Transit Bounce Back
by Ian Borsuk – With this proposed network reconfiguration currently planned for Fall 2021, now is precisely when we need…