For the last couple of weeks, we at CBC Hamilton have turned our focus to the undeniable changes happening in the city of Hamilton.

It's being felt and noticed downtown, on the Mountain, among workers, in restaurants — just about anywhere you look.

Our look at "Hamilton's Identity Crisis" took us all over the city, and included perspectives from voices you may not have heard from before.

Throughout the series, we asked: Who are we, and what do we want to become?

These issues are by no means settled, and we will be paying attention going forward to themes that recurred throughout the series. (You can always send us story ideas and tips at hamilton@cbc.ca.)

Here are some highlights of the people we met and what emerged from this series:

Development, change and the Toronto effect

Hamilton city councillor Matthew Green talks with Toronto developer Brad Lamb about development, identity, affordability and the future of Hamilton. (CBC Hamilton)

We sat Toronto-based developer Brad Lamb down to talk (and sometimes debate) development, change and Toronto migration's impact on the city's future with Coun. Matthew Green.

"Hamilton people are skeptical of the two-dimensional drawings and the hype," Green said.

"There are many cities that would love to have the buzz that is happening here right now, and the opportunity to grow this city in responsible way," Lamb said.

Watch their conversation:

Flashy Toronto developer Brad Lamb wants to build 30 and 40-storey condo towers in Hamilton. He talked with city councillor Matthew Green about development, identity, affordability and the future of Hamilton. 11:58

As we saw in a look at juxtapositions between old and new parts of town, Hamilton's history isn't going anywhere — but it is evolving, as old mixes with new.

And after years of being dismissed as nothing but a smog-filled Steeltown by many misinformed pundits, Hamilton is suddenly "hot," according to national and international media.

Marko Maric lives in upper Stoney Creek. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

The core isn't the only part of the city sustaining massive change. While lower city residents are experiencing different problems — gentrification combined with headline-grabbing renaissance — suburban areas of Hamilton are dealing with rampant, daunting sprawl.

Marko Maric, 23, wants walkable and bikeable streets. He wants green space and good transit. But the more builders build, the more disconnected his neighbourhood gets, culturally and geographically, from "Hamilton proper."

Kevin Makins reflects on changes in his neighbourhood- intended and unintended - he has been a part of. (Kevin Makins)

We heard a point of view on gentrification from Kevin Makins, a pastor who moved with his wife Meg to the North End nine years ago. He reflected on changes in his neighbourhood - intended and unintended - they have witnessed, what role they have played in them and how to respond.

And Mountain resident Doug Sikkema wrote about the decision not to sell his house and cash in on the rising market.

"In all this frenetic activity, what happens to a city when a stable — and stabilizing — middle class seeks greener pastures?"

The changing face of work in Hamilton

"We have good colleagues in their late 60s, and youngsters in early 20s," says Tareq Nasser, who operates Grey Haired Coders out of a co-working space. "We’ll be having lunch sometimes and making jokes about each other's ages." (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

A mix of workers are living the "new Hamilton" economy, making their own way as freelancers and self-employed contractors renting shared work spaces, as traditional, secure jobs prove harder to come by.

A father and son, both Stelco workers, sat down with CBC Hamilton to talk about the changing workforce in Hamilton from different generational perspectives.

Watch their conversation:

Steve Lechniak, 67, didn’t think for a moment about whether he’d be able to find work when he graduated from high school in Hamilton in the late 1960s. But the world looks a lot different for his son, Michael, 35. 10:30

And we talked with five people who've moved here in the last few years and who spend hours every day commuting about how they feel about their new lives, their new city and building community.

Julie Waddick owns a house near Gage Park, where she spends weekends. She stays in a simple apartment during the week in Toronto, where she works. (Adam Carter/CBC)

The CEO of the Hamilton Port Authority urged us not to count industry out of Hamilton's future.

"Condominiums are great, but once the space to make things is gone, it is gone for good, along with the economic opportunities," said Ian Hamilton.

Meanwhile, environmental activist Lynda Lukasik argued that the jobs and security that industry once provided came with a cost. Now, cleaning up that legacy is helping create a new city.

What is Hamilton culture?

Petra Matar, 29, moved to Hamilton six years ago. As an artist and architect, she's both excited and fearful of the change happening in the city she loves. (Kelly Bennett/CBC)

When Petra Matar is wearing her architect hat, she's dazzled by all of the opportunities to develop in Hamilton. As an artist, she worries about her friends being displaced, and about a dwindling number of places for spontaneous, inexpensive collaboration.

(Harold Madi/Twitter)

Art Crawl, a monthly event that epitomizes Hamilton's creative renaissance, has become more successful than anyone ever dreamed. As we discovered, that success is creating problems.

"I can't imagine my life without Hamilton in it," says Adrian Tracy, Hamilton Ticats defensive lineman. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

Hamilton's growing food scene has caught the eye (and tastebuds) of Adrian Tracy, a defensive lineman on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Tracy was one of five Hamiltonians who took us to meaningful places in the city.

Ashor Sworesho shows an Assyrian greeting and response wishing the person peace. The Assyrian language is written from right to left. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

Hamilton is a mosaic, not a melting pot, and that makes residents like Ashor Sworesho proud. He helps teach Assyrian classes in the city. As this story shows, identity in Hamilton continues to also be about keeping a part of where you came from.

What you said

As you participated in the conversations these stories sparked, we collected some comments from our social media and mailbag.

Maurana Brush (CBC Hamilton)

And to kick off our effort, we asked you during Supercrawl: What is Hamilton? What does Hamilton need? Hundreds of people took the opportunity to fill in the blanks on those two question prompts, writing in the answers on our white board and posing for a portrait.

Have an idea for a story we should cover in the future? Drop us a line at hamilton@cbc.ca.