What we’re researching next.
Here’s our approach: pick a big question about this city, build one comprehensive report that pulls every piece of evidence we can find and verify into it, and publish the whole thing free, forever — no paywall, no login, no catch. This page is our open notebook. It shows what we’re already digging into, what’s queued up next, and what runs continuously in the background — all in public, on purpose, because a research agenda gets better the moment people start arguing with it.
In the works now
These are the questions we’re actively researching right now. Each one is headed toward a full, sourced report — and most will grow follow-on pieces once the main report lands.
- How do we end homelessness in Toronto — for less than we’re already paying to maintain the crisis? — the research is sealed and the full report is drafted — it’s being finalized now. Until it lands, start with Homes & Homelessness in the wiki.
- Why can’t Toronto move, and what would it take to give this city the world’s best transit? — the first full report is out — read it, with every receipt shown.
- What are the root causes of crime in Toronto, and how do we take away the reasons for it in the first place?
- What would it take to guarantee every Torontonian shelter, food, and the basics — and how do we do that responsibly?
- How do we recognize and put to use the untapped talent of Toronto’s immigrants, youth, and elders?
- Who profits when Toronto’s problems stay unsolved, and how do we realign the money with the fix?
- What does it actually cost Toronto not to solve its problems — and who’s paying that price?
- What could Toronto accomplish in one year if every institution and neighbourhood pointed at the same goals together?
- What should Toronto build now for the city we want fifty years from now?
- How do we reform education for a world with AI, and give young people real purpose?
- If AI and automation take over the hardest work, what does a good life and a fair economy look like for Toronto?
- How could Toronto make its big decisions together, with everyone’s voice actually heard?
- How could Toronto and Ontario do AI data centers right — efficient, consulted-on, and built to last?
- How should Toronto handle AI surveillance of public spaces — on our own terms, before big companies decide for us?
- How could Toronto become the cleanest, greenest, and most beautiful city it’s ever been?
Up next — our research queue
These are the questions we plan to take on next, roughly in the order below. Nothing here is fixed. This is an invitation: tell us which of these matter most to you, what we’re missing entirely, and who we should be reading or talking to before we start.
- What would it take for Toronto to become the healthiest and happiest city in the world?
- How can every Torontonian eat well — food grown, cooked, and served with care — without losing the jobs and culture built around it?
- What would it honestly look like to take housing out of the speculation game, and how do we manage that transition without the crash everyone fears?
- How can we systematically learn from the wisdom of our elders — and could something like a “call a grandparent” line actually work?
- How do we better train and empower newcomers to put their skills to work here — and to help improve the places they came from, too?
- How could Toronto build the best sport-development program in the world, and dramatically expand youth sport and club activity?
- How do we conquer loneliness — and what could a city like Toronto uniquely do to bring people together?
- Can today’s financial system keep working as it is — and what should Toronto do either way?
- How do we invest in pregnancy and a baby’s first 1,000 days as the foundation for everything that follows?
- How do we build the best high-tech and low-tech disaster response Toronto can have, ready before it’s needed?
- What are the keystone species and environmental markers we should track and celebrate as Toronto gets greener?
Always running
Alongside the questions above, three projects run continuously — not one-off reports, but standing work that never really finishes:
- Election candidate coverage — tracking who’s running and what they stand for, with identical treatment for every candidate, every time.
- What government watchdogs and agencies report — following the findings of auditors general, ombudspeople, and other accountability offices, so what they uncover doesn’t just disappear into a filing cabinet.
- The Toronto reading list — the best books, reports, people, and resources on this city’s hardest problems, organized so you can actually find the one you need.
Tell us what we’re missing
This agenda is a working draft, same as everything else on this site. If you know a question we should be asking, a report we should be reading, an expert we should be talking to, or a source that would make one of these reports better — we want it. You don’t need credentials, a title, or a polished pitch. A sentence is enough to start.
The email opens with a short template. Since you came here from another page on this site, we’ve pre-filled that page’s address into the email for you — check it’s the one you meant.
Every report we publish stays free forever, and every claim in it is checked before it goes up — the same standard as the rest of this site. Read more about how: How we verify.