I bet everyone has now heard about, raged about, laughed about, wondered about or simply been dumbfounded about Halifax Councillor Brad John's decision to purchase a $25,000 robotic Christmas Tree using his discretionary Council funding. He has now won a national award from the Canadian Taxpayers Association for wasteful spending. In defense of the purchase,… Read More

Halifax Transit unveiled their long awaited draft network on February 17th. Transit geeks - myself included - quickly jumped on the proposal as not bold enough: here;  here; and here.  Now that I've had a week or two to think about the proposal, my criticisms still stand. BUT This draft network  is an improvement over… Read More

Halifax Transit has been reworking their bus network, behind the scenes, since January 2014. Their draft network will be released any day, and 10 weeks of engagement will follow. The network will be based upon four principles: 1) direct more resources to high ridership service; 2) build a simplified, transfer-based system; 3) invest in service quality… Read More

Detroit is the model of how not to build a great city. Their hockey team, however, is the model for how to build a great NHL team. The Red Wings haven't missed the playoffs in over 20 seasons. Since 1997, they have won four Stanley Cups. At their worst, the Red Wings have been good.… Read More

On Friday I went to a workshop on creating walkable communities. At the workshop, urban planners, engineers and people working for healthy communities learned about tools and approaches to making walkable places. It was a great day. There are passionate people working across Nova Scotia to make it easier and safer to walk. Unfortunately, there's a… Read More

Studying great public spaces is the best way to learn about how public space works. What spaces should we study in Halifax and Dartmouth? While we have some good public spaces, no one space jumps out for me as truly, without question great. I think a few spaces in Halifax come close to being great:… Read More

How many people walk down your street every day? If none, is it a safe and comfortable place to walk? If people do walk, is it only to do things they absolutely have to do? Things like taking the dog out to pee, or heading to the bus. Jan Gehl, a Danish architect who has carefully studied… Read More

How much personal space is enough personal space? There's no right or wrong answer, just personal preference. No matter how much, or how little, everyone needs a bit of space just for themselves. People also want to connect with other people. These two desires - having space and being close to people - are at odds with… Read More

Halifax is taking its second crack at new rules for developing the urban core. The Regional Centre Plan will create clear, fair rules adding density, and easing approvals and requiring better building design. Broad goals include more vibrant neighbourhoods, more sustainable transportation and more people living and working in central Halifax and Dartmouth. These are fantastic goals. I'm excited about… Read More

At first glance, urban is a simple word. Urban refers to the characteristics of towns or cities. Straightforward, right? Maybe. Consider the different uses of the term. Urban sprawl describes low density development with lots of space for cars and separated uses (housing in one area, stores in another, school in a third, etc.). What about suburban… Read More