How can we make our city apartment more of a social hub?

I read once about a woman who had a standing thing that for, say, two hours or so on Sunday, she would be serving tea and anyone could drop by and they were welcome to bring food items to go with the tea, if they saw fit. So she was mostly providing space and tea. It was pretty low budget and the time was flexible. She just made sure there was constant hot water and a selection of teas to choose from. She talked about how much it facilitated connections between people who would otherwise not have had a chance to connect. It was very casual and different friends of hers got to meet each other. I don't know how you would put the word out and make this a "tradition" where everyone knows "Hey, tea at Anon's -- standing invitation!" but that might overcome whatever social/psychological barriers are preventing people from just dropping by. If you want them more than once a week, you can make it however many days per week works for you.

Inspired by some friends of mine who used to do soup on Sundays open to anyone they knew. Buy a large soup pot, make soup in it on a weekend afternoon, and invite everyone you know to come over at any time that day and have a bowl. If no one shows up, you've done yourself a favor and made yourself dinner for the rest of the week.

I would also never drop spontaneously into the home of someone with a two-year old. (I am in my thirties and don't have any kids). Do the people you want to spontaneously drop by also have small children?

I like the spirit of this article. Although it is less spontaneous, it seems like a way to make social occasions happen more often. http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/simpler-entertaining-friday-night-dinners-end-loneliness-how-to-build-community-after-having-kids.html

Could you pick a night of the week and have a weekly "Open House Dinner" with an open invite to your friends to drop by with food or wine to share? With a workshop area/theme of the common activity your friends share? When building an event like this from scratch -- or any party really -- I've had the most success getting individual buy-ins from the people I'm closest to, and then inviting more distant friends. That way you will set yourself up for failure instead of sending an impersonal email to 50 people and having 1 show up.

I have friends who have scheduled dinners that they invite people to. They have a public Google calendar where they put what they're serving for dinner. These friends generally expect a couple days' notice, but are pretty flexible. But it certainly makes meeting up with them easier. So maybe you can have a calendar of tea/dessert/movie/hang out time and then people will know that it's ok to drop in at those times, making it feel less of an imposition.

I used to do Sunday Brunch at Snacks' Place and after about three weeks it became A Thing. Facebook helped with this greatly, I would just shoot invites to the usual suspects and leave it open invite. People from all different corners of my friend network (and even friends of friends) would stop by and eat pancakes, bacon and eggs while watching whatever http://myanimelist.net/anime/5355/Sengoku_Basara I was into at the time, or just chit-chat while sippin' on some french press. It was ultra no-pressure, and there was always at least two people there besides me every week. I have no idea how you foster that sense of welcoming-ness when you're in young family mode, but I too hope to do the same in the next five years. Broadcasting that you're open to such things and presenting yourself as a laid back, happy host(ess) goes a long way. It also would depend on knowing a fair amount of people who aren't super busy with their own families. I hear kids make a derailed train look like spilled milk. I was (and am) really only friends who appreciate and foster that kind of spontaneity, which is what makes the magic possible, ymmv in that aspect.

In my experience this also comes with friendships where the "spontaneous unplanned hangout" is common. You can initiate those yourself. Whenever you are near someone's house, text them: "Hey, I'm in your hood (or going to be in your hood later this afternoon)! Wanna grab a cup of coffee/meet me and kiddo at the playground?" Whenever you don't have evening plans and it's noon on a weekday, text friends, "Yo, it's been awhile - wanna grab a drink/dinner tonight? Wives and kids included...or not" You will see that some friends are receptive to this and some aren't. They'll start doing it back when they are near YOUR house and then you can say "Come on over!!" When you do have one friend over for brunch/hanging, text a bunch of others: "Hey! I'm hanging at our place with Jane and Steve. Come over??? Toddlers are busy giving each other bruises in the living room and we have mimosas"

I had this apartment! (Granted, I was fresh out of college and my friend group was either in their final year of school or first year out, so young/flexible schedules/etc.) Central location is the most important thing. Looks like you've got that. Easy access via transit/available parking/safe bike area? That's important. Other things: -Have comfortable, slouchy furniture. -Always have easy food. No one wants to impose on their friends, so being a person who always has a pot of chili on the stove or a cupboard full of fast snacks or is in the middle of 14 pizza places is key. -Not hovering. If you truly are cool with people just dropping in, let them come and don't make it a thing. Let them think of your place like an extension of their home, and not someplace they have to be on guest behavior. When I was living in the hangout apartment I loved it. (And then I got tired of it and since then intentionally moved far enough away from my peers that no one drops in because I don't like pants.) It really felt like an extension of the college dorm setup where everyone is just comfortable wandering into each other's lives when the mood strikes. If you want to encourage people to come over like this, let people know that your door is always open and you love drop ins. Invite people over for no reason and low-key occasions. Invite someone to just come by for tea and chitchat. Have a regular craft night where people just drop in on a Wednesday or whatever to sit&knit. Low pressure, no special purpose, just to get people used to being around your place.