The Tamarack Institute’s Community Change Summit brings together practitioners, community leaders, and system thinkers from across Canada and internationally who are working on place-based approaches to community change. This fall, the Summit comes to Toronto, and we are partnering with Tamarack to bring participants directly into the neighbourhoods where that work is happening.

The Summit takes place October 21–23, and offers a mix of dialogue, shared learning, and on-the-ground exploration for those working to build more inclusive, resilient local economies. Metcalf is contributing a series of immersive community tours, creating an opportunity for participants to learn directly from the organizations and leaders doing this work on the ground.

The tours will take participants to visit community land trusts in Chinatown and Parkdale, which are transforming neighbourhoods beyond affordability; to Building Up and North York Harvest Food Bank, which have built training programs that create real pathways to skilled work and economic stability; and to Mabelle Arts, which demonstrates how arts infrastructure can strengthen community connections and belonging. The tours will also feature representatives from the Toronto Community Benefits Network and the Little Jamaica Land Trust, two organizations working to ensure that the growth in Toronto’s neighbourhoods benefits the people who already live there.

Together, these organizations reflect the kind of long-term, community-led work that builds economic inclusion from the ground up. We hope that by bringing Summit participants into direct contact with this work, the ideas and approaches that have taken root in Toronto’s neighbourhoods can be a source of inspiration, surface actionable insights, and generate momentum for sustained change across other communities.

Learn more and register through the Summit webpage.