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Originally Posted by someone123
Yep. The population decline on the Peninsula since 1960 wasn't from abandonment. It happened because birth rates fell post-Baby Boom and because there has been more and more commercial development that in many cases replaced (old, crowded, and often inadequate) housing. I don't have statistics but I would guess that there are far more occupied housing units on the peninsula today than there were in 1960.
Something else to keep in mind is how expensive homes in central neighbourhoods are. People wouldn't be spending $500,000 on mid-sized South End homes if they didn't like the area.
Of course, I still think there needs to be a concerted effort to push for more housing in central areas. It's just not going to happen if the process consists of 2-3 year tortuous public consultation and appeals for every little 7 storey building that happens to fall within 500 metres of somebody who decides they don't want it. The scale of the Peninsula is such that it needs 10,000-20,000 new residents, which means thousands a year if that's to happen at a reasonable pace. That means maybe 10-20 moderate-sized developments per year.
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I know the Province of Alberta is doing a review of the MGA and one push that has been tossed around is including the provision of affordable housing through a DP or policy mechanism.
I just did a quick look through the HRM Act and it doesn't appear to deal with affordable housing provisions either through a DP or development agreement (I could be wrong - I just did a quick skim). But I think if you don't make sure densifiction can include everyone (by means of some affordable housing as a means to obtain height bonusing perhaps?) then you will never make a fully accessible community. That being said - if you attach it to bonusing for height, I'm sure you could ensure that everyone could have a chance to live downtown and grow the population.