Archives /// Environment

HALIFAX - Dalhousie's third annual Green Week is coming to an end tomorrow after four (ecology) action packed days.  Organized by the Student Union Sustainability Office, the week has provided such earth-friendly events as a Bicycle Tune Up Bonanza!!, a green job fair and  a residence waste challenge. Here at Spacing Atlantic we are a coastal people, and it is with this in mind that we encourage you to make your way to the Dalhousie Student Union Building tomorrow at noon.  ...

The [Re]Presenting Halifax series revisits historical and contemporary maps, diagrams and other interpretive readings of the Halifax region. See my first post for the full aims of this project and more information about contributing to the series. HALIFAX - In 1957, University of Toronto planning professor Gordon Stephenson released a report titled A Redevelopment Study of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Jointly funded by the City and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), this study was commissioned after a series of unsuccessful slum clearance and redevelopment proposals for the peninsula in the early 1950s. Stephenson’s study, widely-known as The Stephenson Report, was a manual for urban renewal and regeneration achieved through slum clearance. Armed with "evidence" from the Report’s statistical surveys of social conditions, the city razed 16 acres of dense housing (more than the 8.8 acres recommended), displacing 1600 people and relocated them to the newly constructed Mulgrave Park housing project. The cleared land sat empty until the construction of Scotia Square in 1967.

The [Re]Presenting Halifax series revisits historical and contemporary maps, diagrams and other interpretive readings of the Halifax region. See my first post for the full aims of this project and more information about contributing to the series. HALIFAX - Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres: “army officer, military engineer, surveyor, colonizer, and colonial administrator” – cartographer. DesBarres is a mysterious figure and little is known about his personal life. But despite the little attention he is given, DesBarres holds an important place in the history of this region. Leaving Switzerland, spending time with Voltaire in Paris, joining the military in England, DesBarres came to North America in 1756, seven years after the founding of Halifax. Instrumental in the successful 1758 siege of Louisbourg, DesBarres' many talents were quickly recognized by his superiors. DesBarres was soon mapping the St. Lawrence River and working on his charts in Halifax during the winter months while teaching mathematics, astronomy, and surveying to a young James Cook. In 1760, DesBarres began mapping the Halifax Harbour in preparation for the construction of fortifications and dockyards. Over the next decade he would also complete detailed hydrological surveys of the coast. The Atlantic Neptune, a large collection of charts and views of the east coast of North America was the result of his work, first published in 1777, and has been his lasting legacy.

HALIFAX - Interested in turning your urban yard into a rural idyll? Always wanted a piece of the country right here in the city? On Wednesday at Halifax Hall, city staff are hosting a public information meeting regarding backyard laying hens and a proposed amendment to the Peninsula Land Use By-law. Following this meeting, the proposal will undergo a detailed review and staff will prepare a report to be tabled at Peninsula Community Council. If you're interested in the growing urban farm movement, this is the place to make yourself heard. WHAT: Public information meeting ...

MONCTON - While driving towards Salisbury along the Riverview side of the Petitcodiac River I noticed some peculiar sign-age under the acronym LAPPA, imploring all who cared to read it to keep the causeway connecting Moncton with Riverview closed. Having become familiar with the plight of the river myself over the years, the sign struck me as odd. It was my understanding that the general consensus amongst concerned citizens was that the gates should be opened in an effort to restore the river.  So, as with anything of particular interest to my life, I Googled it. Before we get to my findings, a little background information if you will. The causeway was constructed as a means of connecting Moncton with the quickly expanding town of Riverview and, as is the case with many NB municipalities, foresight was a word not found in the City of Moncton’s dictionary. The causeway essentially pinched off the river, causing a massive buildup of silty sediment directly downstream. The river's tidal bore, once world renowned and allegedly surf-able, was reduced to little more than the trickle of an 80 year man with kidney stones. As can be imagined the local ecosystem was affected and the fauna — fish in particular — that had once flourished soon vanished. A new ecosystem has since grown in its place, namely that of Lake Petitcodiac, a fresh water headpond that amasses upriver of the causeway.

This is the second installment in a series that revisits historical and contemporary maps, diagrams and other interpretive readings of the Halifax region.  See my first post for the full aims of this project and more information about contributing to the series. HALIFAX - This map is a representation of the waterfront area, city centre, and suburbs of Halifax in 1835. Despite the passing of nearly 90 years since its founding, the original layout of the city remained intact in 1835. The only noticeable expansion is evident in the suburban growth in the north and south (Schmidtville), while paths to the west identify patterns for future expansion. The inclusion of plot size is one of the most distinguishing and legible features of this map. Within the original city centre, blocks are narrow, with the long edge running parallel to the water. The blocks follow a strong grid pattern, each being approximately 320 feet in length and 120 feet in width (98m x 37m), with 55-foot (17m) wide streets in between. Each block is then subdivided into 16 equal plots. The result is a fine grain and diverse urban fabric, as each plot is a mere 40 feet wide.

This is the first of a series of explorations through maps of the Halifax region. Revisiting maps, diagrams and other interpretive readings of Halifax that have long been buried can only help to further the discussion and debate about the current direction and future vision for the region. The overall objective is to re-present the city within the historical and contemporary socio-political, spatial, and ecological dimensions and challenges in a manner that helps to reveal opportunities and contribute to a wider discussion on current conflicts, debates and developments. The ‘agency’ or capacity of the map is explored in parallel to the region’s ability to adapt to and meet some of the increasingly diverse needs and demands of the city, its users, and inhabitants. This proposal loosely imitates recent interpretive mapping exercises as published in Mapping Boston and Mapping London (among others), that demonstrate a renewed interest in both mapping/map as process and product. While this exercise is much more modest in scale, it is also well suited for collaboration and contributions for others interested in the topic - so, please, join in on this subjective cartographic journey through the past and potential of Halifax! Anyone interested in contributing to this interpretive reading of the city is encouraged to send an email with suggestions, ideas, or proposals. I begin with a rather simple plan of the city centre and immediate surroundings produced in 1878, as it offers a glimpse of the city as both expanding port and fort town - a colonial town - yet, before its relationships to the landscape were eroded beyond recognition.

HALIFAX - Enthusiasm for local food is on the rise in Halifax. One only needs to witness the bustle of the Saturday morning farmers’ market. It’s so busy that the market is moving to a bigger location to accommodate the crowds. New markets are popping up all over the city. Whether it’s from a North End street-side market or one found in a South End parking lot, more and more people are buying local food. Although most Haligonians embrace the local food movement, Halifax city council isn’t on board; at least when it comes to urban poultry. The beginning of 2008 saw city council taking a stance against food security with its decision to ban backyard laying hens. Almost two years later, it seems that urban agriculture enthusiasts and amateur chicken farmers will get another chance to plead their case. The issue first came into the limelight in January 2008 in the West End of Halifax. At the time, Louise Hanavan was raising three laying hens in her backyard, collecting fresh eggs and using the manure to compost her garden. But a complaint from a neighbour put an end to her small-scale urban farm. Reg Harper claimed that the chickens were attracting rats and not long after, Hanavan was given official notice to move the hens off the peninsula. It seems foolish that this single complaint about attracting vermin (in a port city that is full of mice, rats, cats and other assorted pests) was enough to derail the entire city’s foray into urban agriculture.