SAINT JOHN - It’s official. The City has finally implemented a new municipal plan to replace the outdated 40 year-old plan whose policies have ransacked the city. Sprawl, encouraged under the old municipal plan, has shifted the population around, outside the city’s borders, and created a doughnut hole where a densely populated city once stood. Of course, this is an easy conclusion to reach with hindsight at our disposal but, to be fair, I’m sure the Council, city staff and consultants of the day had the best interests of the city at heart. In the prevailing 40 years, however, the trends and practices in urban planning have made a massive about-face. No more of this idyllic “city-country” state, the suburbs, but a focus on density, walkability, and sustainability. The residents of Saint John appear to have sensed the impact of these old outdated policies and have begun rejuvenating the city even in the absence of a new municipal plan. The city is seeing a natural resurgence and the new crowd-sourced municipal plan will be a fantastic guiding document and development tool reaffirming the direction the city is already heading in.

This feature first appeared in the Summer 2011 National Issue of Spacing Magazine. SAINT JOHN - Saint John, like many other cities its size, has suffered immensely from suburbanization over the past few decades. The city has struggled with skyrocketing property taxes and inadequate service delivery as thousands have moved away from the  core — the city’s population is an estimated 70,000, yet the daytime population is approximately 122,000 once people from the surrounding bedroom communities arrive downtown for work. However, two major projects currently underway in Saint John could reinvigorate the city and serve as a model for other Maritime communities that are facing similar predicaments.

SAINT JOHN – We are now a few months into the City of Saint John’s experiment with bike lanes on Main Street in the city’s North End and, from all reports, the world hasn’t ended yet. Traffic has naturally slowed to non-freeway speeds without backing up (or really being noticed at all) and the route sees many cyclists use it every day. It has even been popular enough with pedestrians that the City thought it was necessary to issue a statement saying that the bike lanes are approved for – you guessed it – bicycles only. Too bad for the pedestrians in need of a safer walking route, but that’s another story.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Based on feedback from an earlier post on urban density, Spacing Atlantic will feature one of the top five dense residential neighbourhoods in Atlantic Canada each week. Last week's neighbourhood: Downtown St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. So, why density? Residential density, the number of people living in a given area, is one of the most important characterisitcs of urban areas. High densities create vibrant streets, support main street commercial areas, and encourage walking, biking and transit use. But how dense should our neighbourhoods be? What types of buildings create high densities? What do high density neighbourhoods look like? Hopefully this series encourages people to look around their neighbourhood and ask: how does density affect the quality of my neighbourhood? Without further ado ...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Based on feedback from an earlier post on urban density, Spacing Atlantic will feature one of the top five dense residential neighbourhoods in Atlantic Canada each week. No case of the Mondays here! So, why density? Residential density, the number of people living in a given area, is one of the most important characterisitcs of urban areas. High densities create vibrant streets, support main street commercial areas, and encourage walking, biking and transit use. But how dense should our neighbourhoods be? What types of buildings create high densities? What do high density neighbourhoods look like? Hopefully this series encourages people to look around their neighbourhood and ask: how does density affect the quality of my neighbourhood? Without further ado...

HALIFAX - This Monday will launch an exhibition of black and white photos dubbed "Culture Not Convention" to be featured at The Khyber all week. The work is a collective, community-based response to plans by all three levels of government to spend up to $375 million in tax dollars on a proposed high rise convention centre in the downtown core. It also includes two water colours by Kyle Jackson. Borrowing its name from a previous fence weave project, the photo initiative started back in December, when an ad-hoc group of ...

SAINT JOHN - Many characteristics affect the look and feel of urban neighbourhoods. Two very important characteristics are building height and density. They can be related, but people often speak as if tall buildings and high density are the same thing. So what's the difference? Height is easy: a building is so many stories or so many feet tall. People easily understand how big a 16 storey building is. Density – the number of people or housing units in a given area – pardon the pun, is less concrete.

HALIFAX - “As HRM continues to grow, so do the challenges of balancing Downtown revitalization, regional growth, transportation, and environmental and economic sustainability,” said Paul MacKinnon, Executive Director of Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC). “What we build and where we build it dictate all of these things.” Last November, David Donnelly and Bruce Lourie spoke at Dalhousie University’s School of Architecture and Planning for the event Exploring ways to Grow. Similarly,  Donnelly and Lourie will be speaking tonight, for this year’s 10th Anniversary Carmichael Lecture, presented by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC) in partnership with the Ecology Action Centre. The Carmichael Lecture will discuss strategies for  managing urban sprawl and how sprawl impacts the downtown core of Halifax, NS.  Both events were organized to advocate for and provide a critical, smart growth platform for the 5-year review of Halifax Regional Municipalities (HRM) Regional Plan. Visiting speakers, Donnelly and Lourie, were instrumental in establishing Greater Toronto's Greenbelt, which will have a major impact on how Toronto reinvigorates its downtown, resists sprawl, and protects its local food source. WHAT: 10th Anniversary Carmichael Lecture WHEN: Thursday, May 12, 6:00-8:00 pm WHERE: Atlantic Ballroom, Westin Hotel, 1181 Hollis Street HOW MUCH: Free Kate Carmichael was the former DHBC Executive Director and a tireless advocate for Downtown Halifax. This year marks the 10th anniversary of her passing and DHBC continues to honour her memory by inviting speakers to share ideas and stimulate change in Halifax. Invited lecturers speak on topics designed to inform and educate on key issues that create a thriving Downtown.