[caption id="attachment_6207" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Photo by Lake City Farm"][/caption] DARTMOUTH -  When I meet Jean Snow, she's gardening behind a group home near downtown Dartmouth. She sits in her garden, snipping off green mizuna leaves to put in the weekly vegetable boxes she gives her Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members. The greens are an ideal crop for an urban farmer with limited space, as they grow quickly and can be harvested every week, explains Snow. One of the biggest challenges facing urban farmers like Snow, who co-owns Dartmouth's Lake City Farm with her husband Bob Kropla, is a lack of space. Like many city farmers, Snow has overcome this obstacle by embracing Small Plot Intensive Farming (SPIN) methods, which include farming in backyards around the city and planting strategically.

HALIFAX - I'm peddling hard, snaking my way through the nonstop slew of traffic on Spryfield's Herring Cove Rd.  I gag on dust and diesel fumes as I speed past fast food outlets, boxy-beige shopping plazas and angry commuters. There's nothing particularly special about this patch of urban sprawl; I could really be anywhere. But l discover a lush urban farm, full of a colourful blend of sunflowers, ripe tomatoes, fragrant herbs and much more when I veer off the main road. The Urban Farm Museum of Spryfield, on the corner of Rockingstone Rd. and Ardwell Avenue, provides sanctuary to all those who need to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. City dwellers interested in learning more about Spryfield's agricultural roots and the art of urban farming can do so if they bike out to the farm or hop on the  #14 or #20 bus, both of which  stop near the urban farm. Spryfield was the city's bread basket in the 18th and 19th century, but farms began disappearing in the '50s to make way for urban development. The municipality appropriated most of Janet Kidston's family's farm in 1969, but she licenses the few acres she has left to The Urban Farm Museum Society. The Society runs programming teaching locals of all ages, abilities and walks of life how to grow food in the city. City farming is not a novel concept, but sadly much of the area's farming knowledge has been forgotten.

Squat rows of abandoned apartments circle an empty children's playground, buried by snow. These buildings have seen better days. Their dull brown, yellow, grey and dishwater green paint is fading. Most windows are shattered or boarded up, while metal fencing and a dozen 'No Trespassing' signs surround them. If you look into the horizon, you can see candy cane striped smoke stacks belching smoke and the outline of the A. Murray MacKay Bridge. Shannon Park, a dilapidated former military barracks, is one of the first things people ...

HALIFAX - Halifax is deadlocked in yet another polarized development debate. Pro-heritage people oppose the proposed World Trade and Convention Centre, on the grounds that it would ruin the old-world feeling of our city, while many in the business community dismiss heritage folk as naive sticks in the mud. The municipal government, under HRMbyDesign, has approved the development of two new skyscrapers downtown. The Hardman Group developers proposed to tear down the unsightly Cogswell Interchange and somehow “reunite” the north end with the south end by putting a couple sky-scarpers between the communities, but the deal was awarded to Rank Inc. Rank plan to build two glass towers, standing at 18 and 14 stories each on the blocks spanning the former Halifax Herald and Midtown Tavern buildings. Aside from housing the World Trade and Convention Centre, Rank's plans include a 600-car-parking garage, residential units, office space and a hotel. The buildings will be taller than Citadel Hill and block the view to George's Island from the top of the hill. Concerned citizens won't know the full details of the plan, including how much the project will cost taxpayers, until February. Not everyone's thrilled. The Coalition to Save The View from Citadel Hill, spearheaded by Peggy Cameron and Beverly Miller, is petitioning Premier Darrell Dexter in hopes that he won't give the development the final go ahead. The coalition gained recognition by circulating leaflets featuring alarming images of somber-black boxes blocking our skyline, warning citizens that their view was “going, going, gone.” Rank's own mock-ups feature shimmering-glass buildings, reflecting the surrounding blue sky. It's probably safe to assume the aesthetic reality lies somewhere in the middle.

HALIFAX - Imagine an alternate Halifax. Beautiful people sprawl happily in urban parks, eating thick, locally produced sandwiches. When they've had enough fresh air, they head home to energy-efficient glass towers. Imagine a “shimmering blue harbour” or “a fragrant and swimmable harbour with no unsettling warm spots.” Capital District's Urban Design Project manager Andy Filmore shared his dream journey Friday night to a packed Garrison Brewery full of urban visionaries, eclectic personalities and those with an interest in sustainability. Filmore participated in Pecha Kucha Night—part of last week's 4 Days' “unconference.” Pecha Kucha literally means “chit chat” in Japanese, but much more than chit chat transpired. Each Pecha Kucha participant focused on a topic loosely related to design or sustainability, discussing 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Sarah Craig urged Halifax to build a school like Ursula Franklin Academy, which espouses values of diversity and community service; Jonathan Mckeever applied mathematical formulas to areas of life, such as square dancing; and Adam Foster Collins' discussed his socially-conscious design project, Threads of Peru.