Frank Palermo on "Centres in the Region"

There is an urgent need for a change in direction, for a vision at HRM. There doesn't appear to be a "crisis" yet with regard to traffic, sprawl and the environment, the death of downtown and expenditures on servicing development. However, by the time a crisis has come, it is too late for action and leadership.

We cannot wait until a crisis happens. We are now situated on the edge that could lead to a crisis, in a window of opportunity. There are signs everywhere that this is the critical moment, when a vision can make a difference.

Review of the Forces of Change

Globalization, communications and the knowledge economy are the mainsprings of progress and are changing what cities should be doing. Human resources and technological infrastructure are now the sources of the city's strength. Changes now taking place are as significant as the Industrial Revolution and its effect on cities.

Halifax is no longer a backwater, and has advantages in some ways. There is more leisure time, an aging population requiring more services and continuous, life-time learning by more and more people. HRM's universities and elementary education are important in this regard

We have come to realize that big, centralized problems are not easier to solve, but that local, decentralized solutions are better. The Harbour Cleanup sewage collection is an example, with large, central treatment plant being dropped in favour of several smaller, dispersed plants.

We value small enterprises with many individuals attacking problems themselves, rather than big monolithic corporations. The cities we value most were built in small increments, not in huge redevelopments. We value small storefronts most.

We think of a city that doesn't value just large sites, but that accommodates the small. We value the intensity that comes from diversity. We want the large downtown developments of the 1960's and 70's like shopping centres to be located in the suburbs

Atlantic Planners Institute

This page and all contents are produced by the Atlantic Planners Institute, an affiliate of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

This document was last modified on March 17, 2000.