Downtown Halifax Building Height Restriction

[Wishblade]

Originally Posted by alps

"The Triumph of the City" by Edward Glaeser was recommended to me but I haven't read it. Looks like it can be found at the SMU library.

"The Making of Hong Kong: From Vertical to Volumetric" by Barrie Shelton has a fair bit about the benefits of density in Hong Kong, although it's not totally tied to building height. Kowloon had a strict blanket height limit for many years due to the old airport, but still had some of the highest densities in the world due to the small unit sizes (my 37 sq. ft. room case in point.) Really interesting book in any case and is held by the Sexton library.

37 sq ft??? Thats a freaking closet!

[alps]

Originally Posted by Wishblade

37 sq ft??? Thats a freaking closet!

It's the same size as my mom's closet in Halifax. But you get used to it!

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by alps

It's the same size as my mom's closet in Halifax. But you get used to it!

Amazing, so a bed would take up about 1/3 of the room. Do you have to share a common bathroom? Do you get a small window (I assume there isn't enough space for a balcony).

[alps]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Amazing, so a bed would take up about 1/3 of the room. Do you have to share a common bathroom? Do you get a small window (I assume there isn't enough space for a balcony).

Bed is more than half the room. Bathroom and kitchen are shared. There's a window, but not much of a view.

[christopher_chafe]

Originally Posted by jslath

I will counter by saying: why does Halifax need a skyscaper to put it on the world map? Quebec City has Old Quebec and Chateau Frontenac; Montreal has Habitat, Old Montreal, and Mount Royal; Ottawa has the Rideau Canal and Parliament; Paris has the Louvre; Toronto has the ROM.

Well I'm not opposed to a signature building, I question the preoccupation on height. I wonder what Freud would say about that?

The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is looking for a new home. Halifax's signature building could be a modern art gallery on the waterfront.

You belong in St. John's, for 99.9% of downtown the height is only 4 storey tall.

[kph06]

Here are a few photos I took today showing the Citadel Apartment and TD Bank cranes are both visible from the grounds inside the walls of the Citadel. I'm not sure how the rules work, presumably cranes are fine since they are temporary, but you can see the tops of a couple buildings (just the cell antenna's).

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by jslath

I will counter by saying: why does Halifax need a skyscaper to put it on the world map? Quebec City has Old Quebec and Chateau Frontenac; Montreal has Habitat, Old Montreal, and Mount Royal; Ottawa has the Rideau Canal and Parliament; Paris has the Louvre; Toronto has the ROM.

Well I'm not opposed to a signature building, I question the preoccupation on height. I wonder what Freud would say about that?

This. Tall buildings aren't a prerequisite for density, nor do they put cities on any hypothetical map, unless they're exceptionally, record-settingly tall--which Halifax won't get anyway.

Toronto, Calgary, Seattle, etc. would have all the same benefits and drawbacks without their respective towers. And there's a long list of cities without tall, iconic structures. In Canada, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver all come to mind, if you disregard the Peace Tower. (And Halifax already has taller buildings than that.)

Again, I'm pro skyscraper. I just think that the height fixation in Halifax works both ways: While the older, established Heritage Trust-ish crowd are fixated on height to a bizarre extent (to the point that they're ignoring more substantive heritage issues that would be more worth their time), the built-it-baby-no-questions-asked crowd is fixated on height as a panacea for urban problems. But tall buildings won't make or break the city. There are lots of great high-rise cities, and crappy high-rise ones, and lots of great low-rise cities, and crappy ones.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

This. Tall buildings aren't a prerequisite for density, nor do they put cities on any hypothetical map, unless they're exceptionally, record-settingly tall--which Halifax won't get anyway.

I don't necessarily disagree with this but I think it's mostly a straw man. Very few people in Halifax think this way. The real argument tends to be that the city needs to promote development so that it can be more economically vibrant, retain more young people, etc. Some people who are against development don't like to argue against this very reasonable position so they make up something else that is easier to shoot down, shoot it down, and then pretend they shot down the real argument when they did not.

If you look closely at the arguments of the Tim Bousquets, Paceys, and Bev Millers, you will find very little in the way of plausible explanations of how their vision will lead to greater economic prosperity for the full range of people living in the city.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by kph06

Here are a few photos I took today showing the Citadel Apartment and TD Bank cranes are both visible from the grounds inside the walls of the Citadel. I'm not sure how the rules work, presumably cranes are fine since they are temporary, but you can see the tops of a couple buildings (just the cell antenna's)....

I think that there some tall buildings constructed pre-height regulations, which might result in what you've observed (and likely contributed to forming the regulations).