Toronto tends to do well on lists. In addition to high marks on various livability rankings, we were recently deemed the best city for youth in the world. And now we can add resiliency to our portfolio. Grosvenor, a London-based developer, recently compiled a list of the world's most resilient cities and we earned top marks. Notably, the top three was rounded out by Vancouver and Calgary, signalling the strength of the Canadian economy.
So what exactly does resilience mean in this context? According to Grosvenor, the ranking takes into account "the ability of cities to thrive as centres of human habitation, production and cultural development, despite the challenges posed by climate change, population growth and globalisation." In other words, resilience is very much about adaptability and staying power.
It makes sense, right? Toronto's had Rob Ford as mayor for almost four years, and somehow we've adapted to that. Based on that accomplishment, one thinks we could handle just about anything.
Photo by ¡Yiyo! in the blogTO Flickr pool
The best brunch in Toronto is reason enough to get out of bed in the morning. It's the perfect remedy for hangovers and weekday woes, an indulgent wake-up call complete with fluffy pancakes, three-egg feasts or freshly baked fare.
Weekend events in Toronto is our guide to events happening this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Here's what's happening in Toronto this April 11-13, 2014.
For 15 years, a six-storey concrete gravestone to the late 1980s Toronto office tower boom sat in the heart of downtown. Affectionately nicknamed "The Stump," the unfinished structural core of the first Bay-Adelaide Centre, was a constant reminder that building skyscrapers is a risky business.
The height of the main tower, which was to be slightly smaller than Scotia Plaza, was made possible by a controversial council decision on the eve of a civic election in October 1988. Essentially, the city cut a deal with the developers that allowed the density of the three separate HBC sites to be added together, creating a "superblock."
Construction began on the first Bay-Adelaide Centre in 1989. A large pit was excavated on the south side of Temperance, into which a six-storey parking garage and the structural foundation for the tower was built. With the discontent over the approval process abating - an independent review ordered by the new council found the deal to be satisfactory - critics began to publicly applaud the design.
The city received its promised benefits despite the death of the project. The $5 million Cloud Gardens with its thundering waterfall and enormous textured grid, a monument to construction workers by artist Margaret Priest, was built where there was once a severe-looking parking garage.
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at 
Easter brunch in Toronto is kind of like the end of winter hibernation - and whether you're religious or not, we can all agree that the arrival of spring is worth celebrating. The long weekend marks that seasonal shift when patios are starting to look viable and leaving the house doesn't require such a concerted effort. 
Hidden in a corner of Black Market Vintage's basement space on Queen West, a crew of barbers has pulled in a devoted clientele of Toronto guys (and gals, and even some kids). Their secret: Prize-winning fades and an underground version of an old-school barbershop's relaxed, open atmosphere.
Dance music fans in Toronto felt like they'd fallen into a 90s time warp Friday morning, after dependably-erratic City Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti revived the city's long dormant war on raves and managed to convince the Exhibition Place Board to vote 4-3 to 
Muzik also provides the catering for the Mayor's Ford Fest event, and owner Zlatko Starkovski is a personal friend of Rob Ford. Last May, an attempt by the Exhibition Place Board to grant Starkovski a ten year lease were put on hold, after concerns were raised that there was not a competitive bid process being applied. It is unclear whether Mammoliti and Ford are currently still on good terms, but they have close allies in the past.
Perks himself has previously been the focus of anger from the dance music community for his own efforts to 
It's not easy to build new transit in Toronto. Right now, the Yonge relief line, arguably the most urgent and important transit upgrade in the city's history, is at least 16 years and several billion dollars away - a carrot on the end of a very, very long stick. 
Right now, there's a general sense the province and federal government aren't pulling their weight and that fundraising tools, like the proposed gas tax, are ways of stealthily passing the buck. But that's not so, according to Anne Golden, the chair of a panel charged with finding new ways of paying for transit. "There is absolutely no evidence to support the idea this can be funded by efficiencies or savings," 
In total, the province is paying about $10.7 billion, the feds $1.03 billion, and Toronto about $526 million for the Spadina Line extension. The Scarborough subway wasn't included because so many of the details are up in the air (see the chart at the bottom of the post.)
Total capital cost: $2.6 billion ($2006)
Total capital cost: $6.6 billion (including $400 million re-routed from the defunct Scarborough LRT.)
Total capital cost: $1.2 billion ($2010)
Total capital cost: $1 billion ($2010)
Total capital cost: $1.8 billion - $2.9 billion (depending on alignment, whose figures you believe.)
This massive vintage store has been floating around the intersection of Queen and John in one form or another since 1980, but its latest incarnation - a huge basement stuffed to the low ceiling with inexpensive vintage and new cheap thrills - has become a landmark of sorts, anchoring the corner in a way that only the CHUM building can rival.
Free events in Toronto this week get a little creepy, what with the freebie Easter bunny photoshoots and all. The week should also have music lovers feeling overwhelmed, between Record Store Day, Southern Souls' first screening, and a sea of by-donation holiday weekend concerts.
When 
A second fire in 1947 destroyed the grandstand again but in 1948, at a cost of $3 million, the 20,000 capacity north stand was erected in its place where it remained until demolition day. In the 1950s, the thousands packed the stands for the Miss Toronto beauty pageant and the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1959.
The Argos moved to the lake front field from Varsity Stadium in 1959, adding the south stand famous for its uncomfortable benches. As the Toronto Star noted in 1989, "the benches were put there on the insistence of then-Argo owner Bill Hodgson because they could fit more seats between the goal lines than if they had chairs."
In 1960, the Pittsburgh Steelers came to Toronto for a one-off exhibition match using CFL rules. They crushed the Argos on home turf 43-16. In fact, there are few good memories involving football. 
But still the worst was still to come. The 1982 Grey Cup was played in a freezing monsoon. Soaking fans exposed to the elements huddled around sheltered concession stands and, when the toilets overflowed, urinated into garbage pails and sinks. To add insult to injury, the Argos lost in front of the largest Canadian TV audience ever at the time. Disgruntled fans marched on City Hall the next day demanding a covered ball park.
Football aside, Exhibition Stadium was most famous for spawning the Toronto Blue Jays. The horseshoe-shaped stadium, despite its detractors, was central to the city's successful bid for an MLB expansion franchise in 1976. The Jays played their first game on April 7, 1977 on a field famously covered in a thin layer of snow.
Ruby Mann, the winner of the 1950 Miss Toronto beauty pageant.
Don Campbell outside Exhibition Stadium.
A drum majorette poses for a photo in an empty Exhibition Stadium.
Seating plan from the Blue Jays era.
This spot on the Bathurst and Dupont strip has gained steady buzz since opening a year ago for offering traditional Venezuelan comfort food, done right. Their long-list of must-try dishes includes crispy arepas, fried plantains and homemade beef empanadas.
Jimmy Kimmel actually made it 
A full 
This weekend, Khao San Road hosted the Songkran Festival, an annual Thai New Year's celebration that centres around a massive water fight. (In some spots in Thailand, those water battles will go on for days.) This year, the wet and wild festivities took place in a heated tent on Adelaide, and organizers called on some of Toronto's top food vendors to help ring in the new year.
Need a little Monday pick-me-up? How about some pizza p0rn to soothe you back into the week and provide a little inspiration for that moment you get home and realize you didn't bother buying groceries over the weekend (hey it was beautiful out, no one's blaming you). Take-out? Delivery? Heck just go out and let someone else do the dishes too. 
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Yum Cha! Dim Sum Festival dished out traditional and innovative takes on buns, dumplings and rolls at the Chinese Freemason Association in Chinatown on Sunday.
