The National Housing Act and CMHC

January 28, 2015 BuiltHalifax

Besides architects and planners, the modernist town planning ideas also permeated to social welfare advocates, and politicians. In Nova Scotia, several town planning acts and municipal legislation were passed to allow towns to implement planning and zoning. This local legislation and support from prominent citizens and leaders was as much an enabler of these ideas…Read More

The Robie Street Extension

January 21, 2015 BuiltHalifax

While looking into the roundhouse that used to exist around Kempt Road, I stumbled upon scans of city maps showing services. One of these has the Robie Street Extension pencilled in - which shows us the street layout, and what was lost for this alignment. Changes to Robie were proposed for years, starting in the…Read More

Scotia Square – Land’s Cleared, Now What?

January 20, 2015 BuiltHalifax

After Stephenson's 1957 report, the city of Halifax had defined a central redevelopment area. Between 1958 and 1962, the city focused on acquiring and clearing the land, clearing 17.3 acres by 1962. With the land acquired and cleared, it was now time to focus on what to do with it. The city's director of planning,…Read More

Harbour Drive

January 13, 2015 BuiltHalifax

Harbour Drive is one of the more interesting aspects of the city. Its proposal is responsible for the single most awkward urban artifact in Halifax - the Cogswell Interchange. Most people know Cogswell was meant to be the start of Harbour Drive. The roots of Harbour Drive come from the development community, and a desire…Read More