What is Halifax's future?

[someone123]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

As for the condos... boomers are beginning the process of downsizing from their homes. The biggest economic secret in Halifax is probably that their is alot of money that has been brought back here from other places and there are large numbers of older and relatively wealthy people. Money comes home because this is one of the most beautiful places in the country.

I think people in Halifax, as a rule, tend to be a bit too negative about the outlook for the city. The current round of construction is no doubt partly due to low interest rates and some other things but I don't think stagnation is the "norm" for the city. If you look farther back, the period around 1990-2000 was really the aberration and steady construction activity in the core was the norm going back all the way to the 1940's.

Something else to consider is that the number of residential units coming on board isn't as large as it may seem. There are a lot of developments in the pipeline at any given time but they tend to proceed as there is demand and planning and construction are slow. King's Wharf has turned out to be 4 new buildings over a span of maybe 6 years. Southwest is building their projects on a much less aggressive schedule than they originally announced to the media. On any given year only a handful of substantial residential buildings are completed in the urban core, and the overall population increases by 4,000-5,000 people. There's also the Nova Centre right now but that's a one-time sort of deal.

All that being said if there is overbuilding downtown the consequences won't be too bad for most people. They'll just get a deal on downtown condos if they want them. It's overheating and poor affordability that are bad, not high volumes of construction. If all the planned condos suddenly materialized tomorrow there probably would be a kind of nuclear winter for new residential construction downtown but tons of people would move in during that time and shops and restaurants would thrive.

[Jyeatbvg]

Originally Posted by someone123

I've mostly seen the two separate models for trying to figure out where the city fits compared to the rest of the country. People usually either go the qualitative "big city and capital" route or they look at population numbers. Neither one gives a very accurate picture of the differences.

One thing I find that people tend to miss out on is that Halifax is of much greater historical importance than all but a couple of other Canadian cities. Halifax inherited a lot of heritage buildings and spaces that are typically characteristic of much larger and more important modern North American cities (unfortunately this unique local heritage isn't valued much). From around 1750-1880 and during the world wars it was a very important and busy place.

The difference isn't unlike comparing some European and North American cities. Copenhagen is more urbane than Phoenix, even though it has fewer inhabitants. It's also the more important of the two cities culturally and historically, so it has a lot more to see and do. On top of this Phoenix mostly developed in a car-oriented fashion while a larger share of Copenhagen is built around pedestrians and transit.

Copenhagen was a city I compared Halifax with due to similar population numbers. I was astounded by the similarity in population numbers in the first place, seeing as Copenhagen's city center is so connected and really lives up to a city larger in size. It goes without saying that European cities and North American cities have grown (and continue to grow) differently, but I think Halifax could really benefit from a little "Europeanization". More connectivity within the major pockets would be fantastic and bring vibrancy to the downtown. It really is a shame IMO that the big business buildings lie right between the harbour and Spring Garden/Citadel.

European cities with similar population numbers as Halifax which come to mind are Edinburgh, Lyon, Florence, Alicante, Belfast, and Aarhus. These cities are pleasant to walk around, the city centers are always busy, and the population isn't a barrier to its dynamism. I think a great way to start would be to build major attractions in the outskirts of Halifax's downtown and gradually fill in the holes. Fill in the empty store fronts on Barrington with cafes and coffeehouses. Add trees to the sidewalks, replace streets with cobblestone paths. The waterfront is severely lacking of business - add shops and restaurants. Maybe even a park where that ugly parking lot is (if not Queen's Marque). The difference between Halifax and the other cities mentioned in this thread (Toronto, Copenhagen, etc.) is that the other cities give people a reason to walk around. After an hour in Halifax there really isn't much to do. Give people a reason to go outside!

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Jyeatbvg

Copenhagen was a city I compared Halifax with due to similar population numbers. ... European cities with similar population numbers as Halifax which come to mind are Edinburgh, Lyon, Florence, Alicante, Belfast, and Aarhus. These cities are pleasant to walk around, the city centers are always busy, and the population isn't a barrier to its dynamism.

Most of those cities are much more populated than Halifax. It is more meaningful to compare metropolitan areas because municipalities encompass different proportions of their respective cities. Metropolitan areas like Lyon and Copenhagen have over 2 million people living in them, whereas Halifax is only a little over 400,000. Aarhus is in the same ballpark as Halifax.

I guess it depends on expectations -- Halifax is never going to be a large, hugely busy metropolis -- but I don't find that Halifax is dead or lacking in stuff to walk to and visit. There is a pretty expansive area encompassing about half of the peninsula and inner Dartmouth that is moderately busy and has interesting things to see. Maybe 6 or 8 square kilometres to explore that are improving all the time.

It could be a lot better if population density in the central areas were higher but that seems to be happening right now. People are moving into new residential developments and more businesses will follow. In the future I think areas like Gottingen will be more like what Barrington is today, and Barrington and Spring Garden Road will have more major retailers. Some inner suburban areas like Dutch Village Road and north end Dartmouth might become urban neighbourhoods.

[Jyeatbvg]

Originally Posted by someone123

Most of those cities are much larger than Halifax. It is more meaningful to compare metropolitan areas, not municipalities that encompass different proportions of their respective cities. Metropolitan areas like Lyon and Copenhagen have over 2 million people living in them, whereas Halifax is only a little over 400,000. Aarhus is in the same ballpark as Halifax.

I guess it depends on expectations but I don't find that Halifax is dead or lacking in stuff to walk to and visit. There is a pretty big area encompassing about half of the peninsula and inner Dartmouth that is moderately busy and has interesting things to see.

It could be a lot better if population density in the central areas were higher but that seems to be happening right now. People are moving into new residential developments and more businesses will follow. In the future I think areas like Gottingen will be more like what Barrington is today, and Barrington and Spring Garden Road will have more major retailers.

Very valid point regarding the metropolitan populations, and a major flaw in my comparison. Thanks for bringing it up. I think you're right - people are gradually moving into the downtown core. It should be interesting to see what Halifax is like when the major developments are all complete.

I guess the major distinction I was trying to make is that in European cities people walk around to walk around. In Halifax, people walk around to get from Point A to Point B. It's the vibrancy of European cities that I think a lot of North American ones (including Halifax) can benefit from.

[ILoveHalifax]

I used to live on the Commons in Halifax and we enjoyed walking north on Robie and back on Agricola, or Cunard to Gottingen various routes to the waterfront to Spring Garden and back across the commons, or across the bridge to Dartmouth to the ferry and back thru Halifax to home, or the ferry to Woodside and along the trail to the Alderney ferry and back thru Halifax, or Chebucto to Halifax Shopping Center to Bayers Rd and back home, or across the commons thru the Public Gardens and various routes back home.
I also lived in the south end and could walk Inglis to Seaport Market along the waterfront up George St to Barrington or Argyle to Spring Garden to Queen or South Park, or South Park to the Gardens or Barrington to Scotia Square and Hollis back home.
These are just a few of my favorite routes in and around Halifax, always something to see and stops along the way to enjoy. There were always people along these routes walking and enjoying Halifax.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by someone123

All that being said if there is overbuilding downtown the consequences won't be too bad for most people. They'll just get a deal on downtown condos if they want them. It's overheating and poor affordability that are bad, not high volumes of construction. If all the planned condos suddenly materialized tomorrow there probably would be a kind of nuclear winter for new residential construction downtown but tons of people would move in during that time and shops and restaurants would thrive.

Yes... and one thing of interest... if the market did really crash in Halifax and all these prices had to be adjusted down... I would bet that we would see more Chinese, etc buying in Halifax.

[JET]

something re: Halifax's past, interesting photos and street maps
http://theoryandpractice.planning.da...eek_thesis.pdf

[someone123]

One area where I don't think Halifax does very well is the public realm along its main pedestrian-oriented commercial streets. Quinpool and Gottingen are just average streets, optimized for vehicle traffic. Spring Garden Road and Barrington aren't far behind.

Granville is pedestrianized but only because it is a marginal block of no value to cars. It just happens to have nice buildings. Maybe it will tie in with something more substantial when Cogswell is redeveloped, but that is years away.

I am not generally in favour of banning cars. It's good to have vehicle access to a street like Spring Garden, but it's not an artery that will carry significant amounts of traffic. More space should be given over to pedestrians and to general outdoor living instead of parking, turning lanes, etc.

The planned streetscaping along Argyle and Spring Garden would accomplish maybe 1/3 of what needs to be done to bring the city up to par with other nice cities in North America and Europe. I think Barrington and George at least should also be done. Probably Blowers and Grafton as well. There should be one big contiguous area with pedestrian-oriented improvements that encompasses the main commercial parts of Spring Garden Road, Argyle, Barrington, and the waterfront. That would be something similar to the pedestrianized retail cores you find in European cities of similar size.