McCready, Richard Gerald "An Evaluation of the Land Assembly Activities of the Nova Scotia Housing Commission in the Halifax - Dartmouth Metropolitan Area"

The paper begins with an introduction to the Halifax Dartmouth metropolitan area and the revelation that a shift in population and development is occurring from the cities of Halifax and Dartmouth to the County of Halifax. The first chapter also includes some information on the regional planning process and on the theory and practice of landbanking.

chapter 2 traces the evolution of landbanking in the metro area by the Nova Scotia Housing Commission (NSHC) from 1968 to the present day. Included are details on the acquisition and development of the various land assemblies, as well as an overview of the government policies which initiated and supported public landbanking.

The third chapter of the paper involves the landbanking provisions of the National Housing Act through which the NSHC cost shares land assembly and servicing with the federal government. It is noted that the Halifax area has one of the highest levels of public land assembly in the country, and the possibility that this may be a contributing factor in limiting housing and lot prices in this area is considered.

The interaction of government landbanking with government assisted housing programs in meeting regional housing needs is the subject of Chapter 4. Two programs, the self help cooperative program (co-op) and the Assisted Home Ownership Program (AHOP) are examined to determine what impact they have had on the development of two NSHC landbanks, Forest Hills and Sackville. It is observed that the programs and the landbanking have been instrumental in each others' success.

Chapter 5 concerns the impact on the distribution of the regional population, and indicates that, although NSHC landbanking has contributed to population shifts toward Halifax County, other factors are also very important. The issue of sprawl in unserviced areas is also addressed with the NSHC being identified as having exerted a positive impact on that problem.

The final chapter includes a summary of the first five chapters, as well as an assessment of how well the NSHC has conformed to the traditional goals of landbanking. It is concluded that although NSHC landbanking has been an appropriate method of facilitating the provision of housing in the past, new policies are now needed to encourage more energy-efficient and compact housing development in more central locations.

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This document was last modified on February 20, 2001.