Bringing the population to 1 million

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by someone123

I have nothing against Moncton and I think it will continue to develop successfully but it is 1/3 the size of Halifax and growing much more slowly. Halifax added about 10,000 people last year and Moncton added about 3,000. Do people always bring up Regina when discussing Edmonton's future development? It always struck me as though the Maritimes are in denial about having a primate city. And don't even talk about Atlantic Canada as a whole because that's really triggering.

1/3rd the size and about the same growth rate. That's pretty good.

Atlantic Canada is much like Northern ON. Point out to a Northerner that Sudbury has the same land area as the GTA and they balk at it.

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I'm of a similar opinion, as I don't see unfettered growth for the sake of growth as a good thing. IMHO, growth should happen more organically, but to be honest I'm happy with the size that it is currently. If I wanted to live in a big city I would have moved to one already.

So some may say that 'Halifax's small town mentality' is holding it back, but to counter that there are many who think that bigger is not always better. Everybody has a right to their opinions, of course.

That said, I'm all for bolstering our infrastructure for the eventuality that Halifax will continue to grow - like others have said, we should be planning decades in advance, not playing catch-up after the fact. In the long run, planning for the future is much more efficient than trying to make something work when it's already too late.

Cities grow. All of the major cities are larger than they were 10 years ago. That will continue.

This isn't about bigger being better, but it is more about being bigger and better, because bigger will happen. Better might not. Just imagine if a low cost house were to cost $1 million? That could happen without planning the growth to be better.

At what point is a city a "big city"?

Toronto is only 2.5 million, but within 100km of the CN tower, it is about 10 million. Imagine somewhere out to Bridgewater, Truro and Sheet Harbour full of people. I doubt that will happen. However, getting all of that out to 1 million might happen within a few decades. This is where a smart plan to prevent sprawl happening like it has in the GTA is a good idea.

Originally Posted by someone123

There are different perspectives. One broad class of perspectives comes from those who've already settled, and another comes from those who are looking for new places to live and opportunity.

Halifax stands out nationally as an affordable yet urban relocation option. It's one of a small number of places in Canada where a new major metro could develop, and it is by far the closest thing to a major city in the region. It makes sense to lean into this role a bit and be ambitious.

If you yearn for the smaller cities and towns or remote wilderness there's plenty of that to be found in NS or around Atlantic Canada. Or even just the parts of metro Halifax that are not likely to grow as much.

This is what many seem to forget. Halifax is an up and coming major city. East of Montreal, it is a major city.

Originally Posted by IanWatson

I don't deny the need to plan for the future. Halifax is going to grow--no doubt about it--and we definitely need to plan for that and put the investments in place. But I read the initial post as being, "how do we make 1,000,000 happen?" I don't see any need to strive for a particular population number, as if that's somehow a measure of our "success" as a city. Halifax fills a really good niche as it is.

I used that number as it is quite high but is realistic in the next 50-100 years. We have seen in place like Vancouver and Toronto how stupid plans have caused their housing to skyrocket and there really seems no end in sight. The goal is to discuss things that are missing in the city for it to grow and not see skyrocketing housing. It is also a way to look at existing transportation infrastructure and discuss what is missing that should be built now.

So, let's measure the success of Halifax by the cost of housing, the number of homeless, the number of working poor, and the overall livability of the city.

Originally Posted by someone123

I used to hear the "Halifax is a good size, not too large, not too small" thing back when it had around 300,000 people. Now people are saying the same thing around 450,000. I suspect people will say the same thing when it has 600,000.

In the same way Halifax always seems to be talked about like a small town by people who have Toronto in mind. But both Toronto and Halifax have grown. In an objective absolute sense Halifax is much bigger than it was decades ago. I wonder how much of this is just post hoc reasoning or sliding scales and people getting accustomed to whatever the norms of the day are.

I see a lot of neighbourhoods in Halifax as being underdeveloped with holes and low densities that don't allow for the level of amenities they had even in the 1950's, although a lot of that is reversing now. And there are a lot of things people want that the market size limits. Sports teams and big retailers being some examples. Meanwhile a lot of the residential areas are basically the same as they were decades ago; it's unclear how the quiet streets of houses will be ruined by growth.

When the city reaches 1 million residents, there will be those that feel it is a good size. When it hits 2 million, there will be some that think it is still a good size. Smart planning and smart construction of key infrastructure is what will keep it a "good size".

It is interesting, many that don't want the city to grow, likely still want things like a CFL team or an Ikea.

So, maybe the new thread name should become "what is needed so that an Ikea and a CFL team come to Halifax."