Cities as Places to Belong

As work becomes more flexible, many people are choosing cities for their culture, opportunity and sense of community. How can urban leaders keep that promise alive for everyone?

Belonging often begins with familiar routines: the same person at the market, a regular class or a public room where staying for an hour requires no purchase. This fictional feature follows newcomers who build those connections through a local library and a neighbourhood gardening project.

Flexible work can make proximity more valuable, but it can also leave people isolated from the networks once supplied by a workplace. Cities that want residents to stay need affordable places to meet as well as attractive housing. Community develops through repeated access, not through branding a district as welcoming.

Illustrated inaugural edition · Fictional editorial copy