Quote:
Originally Posted by someone123
It is funny because the debate is often framed as highrises (and the destruction of views) vs. heritage preservation, but there are lots of historic highrises around the world and a few in Halifax. The Dominion Public Building and Dingle are two good local examples.
I've never heard anybody complain about the presence of the Dingle or claim that it ruins sight lines. On the contrary, I think it's an attractive part of the view of the Northwest Arm and people can climb the tower and look off the observation deck.
Really the problem isn't with highrise buildings or new development, it's demolition and unattractive development. People don't like Scotia Square or the Maritime Centre as much. But no developers are proposing to construct copies of 1960's and 70's buildings. Most anti-highrise sentiment is based on straw men.
Bad traffic is another one that gets unfairly pinned on urban highrises. Halifax's roads are largely clogged by cars driven by suburbanites who live in low density neighbourhoods. Urban development improves congestion compared to the alternative. People need places to live and work. If they live and work in the urban core they will drive less. It's pretty simple.
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This pretty much sums up how I feel about it. While many equate pro-heritage with anti-height, it doesn't have to be that way. Locally, perhaps, this idea comes from the misguided adventures of the HT, arguing so strongly about view planes while true heritage buildings are being knocked down, largely because of weak heritage-designation laws and general apathy among those who make the rules (which is one of the issues that the HT should be focusing their efforts on, but that's another topic).
The Dominion Building is a great example of a structure which satisfies both, thus proving that heritage and height should not be considered mutually exclusive entities.
In fact, one of the reasons I first came to this forum was a result of researching some of NYC's amazing skyscrapers built back in the early 1900s through the art deco age. The Greenvale school repurposing was another drawing point for me, and an excellent example of how a heritage property can take on a new life and add value to its neighborhood.
As (someone123) mentioned previously, I believe part of the reason that there is some resistance to newer tall buildings has been that we haven't had many good examples of quality buildings that were built in the sixties through nineties. I for one became somewhat apathetic seeing cheaply-built, unattractive buildings as the main example of newer construction in the area. Now, I see that the quality of our newest construction has increased dramatically and I couldn't be more pleased.
So, speaking for myself, I like heritage structures and I like newer well-built high-quality structures. Mostly, I like the balance of both 'living' together, working in perfect symbiosis and resulting in a vibrant, interesting city - a place where people want to live and visit.
Which is why some of the extremist views sometimes presented here seem so lame and tiresome - to the point that I sometimes ask myself why I even bother to read this forum (however I always conclude that there are way more well-thought-out and informative posts than the negative ones, so I of course always return). I don't think that Halifax is so poor that we can't fund a few "gee-whiz" projects on the taxpayers' dime. IMHO, projects such as these create a certain civic pride - like the new library: perhaps exorbitant to some, it shows that we value our city and our citizens enough to give them an amazing public building to enjoy. It shows visitors that we are a place of substance and that we care about our city. It shows our pride.
While some deride the Khyber and other arts-based funding, I don't think they realize the intrinsic value that arts add to all of our lives. We all benefit from the arts either directly or indirectly, a concept that I don't believe really requires explanation yet one that some don't seem to grasp. The truth is, very few Canadian artists ever become rich practicing their art within our borders (this is one reason why so many of Canada's artists work and reside in the US). It sometimes seems that we Canadians want to enjoy the work of artists but don't think we should have to pay for it (curiously). This creates a situation where many artists have trouble devoting all their energies to their chosen field of work, as they still have to make a living over and above in order to survive. Therefore, to me it seems reasonable that we should collectively support projects such as the Khyber that will actually pay us back in ways that wouldn't happen otherwise.
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