[OldDartmouthMark]

Nah, it's more than that. Those things have always been around, though drug abuse seems to be more prevalent than in the past. However, we've never seen homeless tent parks like this before, so there's something more going on.

So what's happening here?
- Housing shortage? Sure, it's real.
- Economic and mental health fallout from the pandemic? Absolutely.
- Stronger street drugs? Probably.
- Etc.

I'm sure all of the above and many other socioeconomic factors are part of the problem, but it has to be more than that.

From a planning perspective, what could be done better? I think this is the question we have to ask ourselves. 'Affordable housing' is really only a temporary band-aid but not a solution. How do communities form? It's more than tall buildings and bicycle lanes...

Something to think about when we are entertaining the concept of good urban planning in Halifax. I don't have the answers but there are some great minds here at skyscraper... hopefully this discussion continues.