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...

WHAT: It's More Than Buses - Mobilize Public Support WHEN: Wednesday, September 7 – 6:00pm WHERE: Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre HOW MUCH: Free The third and final It's More Than Buses session will focus on mobilizing public support to implement the ideas developed by participants at the previous two sessions. We will also review our high-frequency transit network concept for HRM, a synthesis of the ideas mapped out by participants at session 2. Guest speaker Paul Bedford, former Chief Planner for the City of Toronto, will open session 3 ...

Captivated by the landscape of Canada's east coast cities? Obsessed with the beauty of a public space, the dirty grime of a back alley, a sidewalk's everyday dramas or the evolving skyline of your hometown? Spacing Atlantic wants your urban photos. Please add them to our photo pool and we will select the best photos to be featured on our blog in our articles and in our Atlantic Snapshot series. Expose yourself and shoot away Atlantic Canada (and don't forget to focus!). Sorry, couldn't help myself. ...

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 - This summer across the country, the idea that vegetables can and should be grown in the city continues to gain momentum. Urban agriculture is a lot of things, but as a formal movement promotes local, sustainable food systems, renewed inner-city social and physical health, and a shift toward people-oriented urbanism. Inner city food production has obvious impacts on the urban landscape, creating pleasant productive spaces in otherwise unproductive, sterile land. Halifax has many lovely gardens, many of which can be found on the Halifax Garden Network’s user-generated map. You can, of course, engage in urban gardening in a variety of ways, ranging from formalized municipal allotments, to semi-private community gardens, to straight up guerilla gardens.

HALIFAX - Collectively, the Halifax Cycling Coalition, Planning & Design Centre, Dalhousie Office of Sustainability, Spring Garden Business Association and the Nova Scotia Bikeways Coalition have organized a critical cycling event titled Building a Cycling Culture: Learning from the Netherlands, tonight from 6:30 – 9pm at Dalhousie University. The cycling event will feature a public talk by visiting speaker and cycling advocate Hans Moor. WHAT: Bike Lecture and Panel Discussion: Hans Moor from the Netherlands WHEN: Thursday, May 5 , 2011 · 7:00pm – 9:00pm WHERE: Kenneth C. Rowe Building - Dalhousie University Room 1011 HOW MUCH: Free! This free event will begin with a drop-in from 6:30-7:00 where drinks and snacks will be provided; additional information about the hosts organizations will be available and the recently completed Institutional District Bikeways Plan Posters will be on display. The lecture featuring Hans Moor will be from 7-8. Following Hans' presentation, a panel of local cycling advocates will join him in a conversation about how to apply ideas from the Netherlands in HRM. An opportunity to ask questions will also be provided to the public. The Netherlands is known internationally as a world leader in cycling infrastructure and culture. For tonights event, Hans will speak to the HRM community about the trends, economics and low cost solutions he's experienced with regards to cycling in the Netherlands and discuss possibilities of applying them in the Canadian context. Hans will also elaborate on the personal benefits of cycling culture and the cost effectiveness of cycling; illustrating that cycling is not only about enjoying a slower pace of life, but even more a remedy against increasing health and infrastructure costs and  reducing the personal finances of individuals.

HALIFAX - The CBC and YMCA buildings occupy a prominent corner in Halifax - a stone's throw from the bustling Spring Garden Road, the Citadel and Public Gardens. In recent years, its neighbours have undergone extensive changes, including the addition of the Martello atop Park Lane Mall and the construction of the Paramount Apartments, directly across from the Public Gardens. And while much of the block has “grown-up”, the CBC building and the adjacent YMCA have sat comfortably, tucked away between civic landmarks, new residential towers and a busy retail strip. But now, the CBC and YMCA are ready and willing to work together to exploit the potential of the strategic place that they hold in the city. View in Google Streetview [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="568" caption="Top: Current view of CBC building from Bell Road. Bottom: Conceptual rendering of proposed development."][/caption] View in Google Streetview [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="568" caption="Top: Current view from South Park Street. Bottom: Proposed development."][/caption] In December 2010, the YMCA and CBC Radio-Canada submitted a Plan Amendment Application to HRM Planning Services to allow for the joint development of their properties. The current application seeks site specific amendments to the Regional Municipal Planning Strategy, the Halifax Municipal Planning Strategy, the Downtown Halifax Secondary Municipal Planning Strategy and the Downtown Halifax Land Use By-Law. Current regulations limit post-bonus building height to 23 metres (CBC) and 49 metres (YMCA); the application seeks to increase the height limit only for the CBC site in order to match current height limits in place for the YMCA parcel.