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Over the last few years, urbanites have been falling prey to a pervasive myth that our cities aren’t “friendly” enough.

There’s Nametag Day, the multi-city event in which volunteers hand out name tags in order to order to spur city-dwellers to “make new friends, learn new things, and share a few extra smiles.”

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Vancouver has The Hello Project, a group aiming to hand out buttons and flyers encouraging city-dwellers to interact with fellow button-wearers. City hall has also encouraged similar efforts through their Engaged City Task Force. The group’s 2014 final report, for instance, suggested getting condo dwellers to know their neighbours by setting up game stands in the building’s elevator.

And there’s People for Good, a Canadian non-profit that is trying to make the country a “kinder place” by emblazoning billboards with slogans like “give your fellow drivers five fingers; wave” and “hug a stranger.” (Note: Do not, under any circumstance, hug strangers. More on that later).