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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 - This is a continuation of last week's post about waterfront redevelopment. Similar to the plans presented last week, this post focuses on a plan commissioned for the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission during the early 1970s. Dubbed Harbour Plaza, this 1971 urban redevelopment plan reimagines the Dartmouth waterfront and ferry terminal. In contrast to the plans for Halifax revealed at the same time, this plan presents the redesign of the ferry terminal as a strategic urban project meant to reactivate the surrounding area. While this proposal never materialized, it shares some similar features to the new ferry terminal and Alderney Landing complex.

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 - Waterfront redevelopment has been a major focus of cities around the globe for decades. In the case of Halifax, it has been a process that has spanned decades. Halifax, much like Toronto, has struggled to find consensus for a waterfront redevelopment strategy. The plans and images presented here show two early visions for the renovation and revitalization of the Halifax waterfront. Although both plans may have had some influence on subsequent development, the future of the waterfront remains a contentious debate. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The redevelopment proposal from the 1971 plan. In addition to the highrises along the waterfront, it is interesting to note the terraced residential infill proposed at the base of the Citadel (much of which is occupied by the Metro Centre today)."][/caption]

This piece of paper was found outside of the George Dixon Centre. HALIFAX - This past Saturday, the Africville Genealogy Society announced that Halifax Regional Municipality has offered a three million dollar compensation package to the former community of Africville.  Yesterday the federal government contributed an additional $250,000 towards the creation of the Africville Heritage Trust. Africville, a small community settled in ...

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.

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 ...

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.

The Nova Scotia Archives is pleased to share photos showcasing the changing faces of urban centers in Nova Scotia. You can learn more about the archives and explore thousands of photos, textual records, maps, art, and more on their website. Bird's eye view of Africville, showing its location on Bedford Basin, with north end Halifax and the Narrows in the background. Selections from Bob Brooks' Photographic Portrait of Africville in the 1960s. Bob Brooks created his photographic record of Africville, mostly in black and white, between about 1962 and 1965. His work appeared in Time Life, The Star Weekly, Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, McCall's, Harper's, Maclean's, Chatelaine, The London Times, Paris Match and National Geographic.

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.