Talk:Halifax Regional Municipality

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Contents

[edit] Archived Discussion

[edit] Buildings and structures

I happened to see this change and I'm wondering if someone can explain its exact meaning. As it stands, it's quite ambiguous: This has resulted in modern high rises being built in unusual locations like halifax. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Twinchester (talk • contribs) 20:48, 6 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Public safety

I propose adding a reference to Halifax's dubious distinction as the violent crime capital of Canada [1]. Does anyone else agree? Seems rather noteworthy. Shawn in Montreal 03:53, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately this probably needs to be acknowledged, though it is important that we do not editorialize or presuppose cause for this. It is a relatively new issue, or, rather, its an old issue that is now much worse, so we have to be very conscious to not sensationalize or do anything unencyclopedic.WayeMason 23:22, 5 November 2006 (UTC)
I'm not so sure we're the crime capital, but Haligonian streets are dangerous (especially at night). Last summer dozens of people reported being ganged by young people and an American was killed downtown a few months ago, not to mention all the taxi drivers. There are probably a hundred more examples that I can't think of at the moment, too. There should definitely be mention of Halifax's record somewhere in the article. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Marshmello (talk • contribs) 21:34, 8 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Why?

Why are there so many "See also" pages? Why not just include them in here? I had a devil of a time trying to find the history of Halifax, the city, and eventually found it (and added the link to it). It seems like a weird way to organize a page --AW 18:33, 5 December 2006 (UTC) You will find the "history of Halifax, the city" in the article Halifax (former city), Nova Scotia--Markhamman 14:10, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History of Halifax

Shouldn't there be a part about the Halifax Explosion? I didn't see it here,but I might have missed it. halifax explosion —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 142.68.95.124 (talk) 00:45, 8 January 2007 (UTC).

The Halifax Regional Municipality did not exist before 1996 so any history belongs in the separate communities either Halifax which still exist as separate community (place name) or Dartmouth , Bedford or other 188 + place within the HRM itself which is a very large place . The whole thing would confusing to combine the history of these communities that its simpler to just write the history of Bedford and keep it separate from Halifax or Dartmouth . The history of these communities often do not relate to the former city of Halifax . As for the Halifax Explosion the event itself has an article and is set in the former city of Halifax or Dartmouth in 1918 and does not really belong in an article about a Regional Municipality that its history starts in 1996--Markhamman 14:08, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unsourced population estimates

A few days ago I removed the estimated 2006 population for HRM (385,000) because there was no official source (ie. Statistics Canada). I see where an anonymous editor has reinstated it, defending this because it is an "estimate". While I would be interested to know what it's based on, and am only confident in official stats from census figures, many community articles in Wikipedia are susceptible to population inflation by editors who are quasi-"civic boosters". If I were really enamoured with HRM becoming a mega centre, then what is to prevent me or anyone else from going in and saying the 2006 estimate is 450,000, or the 2010 estimate is 525,000, etc. etc.? I think we need an official policy stating that community population stats are only based on the most recent released census figures, with appropriate URL link to the source and avoid any and all "estimates".Plasma east 13:01, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Are you from Moncton Plasma East, because I noticed it's numbers were inflated for a long time now until it was recently fixed. The fact is that population estimates are not random numbers, but accurate estimations based on the population growth rate of an area. If you would like to find the estimates you can check www.greaterhalifax.com, www.dartmouthcrossing.com, or many others just search google for it. The fact is HRM has grown well above 360,000 since 2001 and 385,000 is a very accurate estimate of its population currently and is more informative than data from 6 years ago. [ this was an unsigned post left by 24.89.246.190 at 11:37, 13 January 2007 (UTC) ]
No, I live in Halifax. I'm not disputing North American Development Group's figures on www.dartmouthcrossing.com, nor the Greater Halifax Partnership on www.greaterhalifax.com, but these groups are hardly unbiased and it's in their best interest to "boost" the numbers to appear as optimistic as possible for their respective audiences. I would be most comfortable if the statistics came from an agency like Statistics Canada. I really don't see the point in putting out information that isn't concrete... even if the estimate is "accurate", because it's based on a formula, not an actual population survey, which only occurs during the census (..., 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, etc.). Estimated population info that varies widely from source to source is an ongoing problem with Wikipedia articles on Canadian communities. Look at many U.S. articles, and you'll see they are sourced with the hard census figures and there is very little talk about estimated population. I don't see why we can't be content to take a similar approach for consistency. The current approach we take in Canada is pretty amature and not very convincing. The 2006 census figures will be out within a few months, and population is among the first statistics scheduled for release. Plasma east 14:40, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
I guess the 2006 Census resolves this debate. I would hope that a policy is enacted by Wikipedia before we go through similar issues of inflated population estimates during the inter-census years.Plasma east 03:14, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Urban Core

The Urban Core Boundaries are defined here however better to define in the articles as Halifax , Dartmouth , Bedford and etc. No one outside HRM does not have a clue what the urban core is nor people in the HRM refer to it as the Urban Core but the communities name they refer to .--3250445 19:32, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] City of Halifax

I would like to open a debate on the name once more. Maybe we should separate the article as it pertains to HRM, and not include all areas in an article that's being confused for a city and not a Municipality. I propose editing this article, or making a new one to reflect the Halifax city region, based on common boundaries indicated on city maps:

City of Halifax, Nova Scotia

and making a new article that pertains to the entire HRM region, which includes such areas as Bedford, Sackville, Dartmouth, and such other places. The name should be the same as this current article. It may just be easier to make a new article for City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, than to make one for HRM. Sod Aries 08:33, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Its not a city in fact there no cities in Nova Scotia they are Regioanal Municipalities Halifax Regional Municipality is just the local municipal government. HRM has 188 plus communities which the histories are entirely separate and Canada Post does not deleiver mail to the Halifax Regional Municipality unless its addressed as the communities just like the other Regional Municipalities in Canada. The City of Halifax does not exist .Further more the municipality is noy all urban -its mostly rural--Patycat 22:34, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
As I have said for the last 2 years, the fact is that the facts are confusing. There is no city of Halifax. Period. It ceased to exist in 1996. There is only HRM. That is all there is. You cannot talk about the former city of Halifax like that matters, as far as planning goes, the peninsula/Citadel/Capital district, Spryfield/Mainland South and Fairview Clayton Park are all administered separately and doing TOTALLY different things. It is confusing that we have County wide shire level government, but its also the way it is, it is the cold hard facts. There is no legal framework or common usage that can be used to justify presenting these facts in any other way than they are right now. WayeMason 21:32, 24 March 2007 (UTC)
HRM administors Halifax separately from the rest of the HRM . There may be no city of Halifax or Dartmouth but they still exist as communities and their bylaws are still on the books but its the HRM council that controls the municipal Government nothing different that the other counties and Municipl Distrists do in the rest of Nova Scotia . Halifax and HRM are separate .Halifax is not HRM nor is HRM - Halifax . Halifax Nova Scotia is the place it always it has been - so is dartmouth Nova Scotia and the rest the communities . Nothing change in 1996 except what is the Municipal Government nothing else .This well documented on both the Nova Scotia and Halifax Regional Municipality websites . A place name in Nova Scotia does not mean it is a municipality or vice versa. The fact is Halifax Nova Scotia is an actual place name but its a part of the area of the Halifax Regional Municipality. --Sonyuser 00:37, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
HRM is replacing all the old pre-amalgamation units bylaws as time passes. If you look here [1] you will see that for planning purposes that the Chebucto Community Council and the Halifax Peninsula Community Council [2] are the two separate planning groups for the former mainland of City of Halifax and the former peninsula of City of Halifax... further if you go here [3] you can see again that for planning purposes of staff and for service delivery that the former city is now treated as two separate areas.
As I have said before, there is still a community of Halifax, which is increasingly being considered to be just the community on the peninsula. It is not yet clear how these trends will go, but it is not our job to predict it, we report it. Until there is a common usage we cannot report it as "the way it is." But it is clear there is no "city of Halifax" and legally, planning and common usage there is no 'community of Halifax' that matches the entire area of the old city. WayeMason 01:21, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
Not ---- The community of Halifax follows the old City of Halifax boundaries according to the civic addressing department of HRM . Look around the civic address website listing of the street of Halifax here :[2] HRM state that Halifax is a separate community --Sonyuser 01:55, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
The fact that one database uses the old place name (thus far) is not enough of an argument. Besides, the directory you are referring to does not call it the "city of Halifax" it just calls it "halifax". There is a Halifax, Nova Scotia article, that covers off on the "community" inside of HRM, that is ALL that is required. WayeMason 23:31, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

I Just posted this on Halifax, Nova Scotia Merriam-Webster Online [4] defines a city as:

1 a : an inhabited place of greater size, population, or importance than a town or village b : an incorporated British town usually of major size or importance having the status of an episcopal see c capitalized (1) : the financial district of London (2) : the influential financial interests of the British economy d : a usually large or important municipality in the United States governed under a charter granted by the state e : an incorporated municipal unit of the highest class in Canada

Lets study this...

a - Halifax is now a contiguous conurbation stretching from out towards Chebucto head, west to Timberlea, and up the harbour toward Bedford. The whole metro Halifax conurbation is a city, but the old city of Halifax has been absorbed into this larger unit b - Halifax is not incorporated c - it is not the city of London! :) d - is not under a charter (its under two or three, Halifax Mainland and Halifax peninsula, and maybe the Capital district) e - again, it is not incorporated.

Halifax is not a city. It is bad wiki to say Halifax, inside of the old boundaries, is a city. You could create a new article called Halifax Urban Area or Urban Halifax, Nova Scotia, or something, and talk about that, I suppose.

As an aside - my personal feeling is that the Chebucto area (the former mainland) is going to strengthen in identity, and Halifax will become just the peninsula, with it's North, South and West ends of Halifax. But thats not fully common usage yet... WayeMason 10:33, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Now can you show us any proof ?--Sonyuser 12:40, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
No... that is why the sentence says "As an aside - my personal feeling is that the Chebucto area (the former mainland) is going to strengthen in identity, and Halifax will become just the peninsula, with it's North, South and West ends of Halifax. But thats not fully common usage yet" I added bold for emphasis so you don't miss anything. I am not saying this is something that should be acted on. Just because I think I see a developing trend doesn't mean I am going to act on it, a lesson you would do well to learn. Good wiki = not anticipating or leading trends. WayeMason 17:11, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Halifax is "an inhabited place of greater size, population, or importance than a town or village". In a word, it is a city, by the common understanding of what is a city. Consulting a dictionary on this was scarcely useful and noting that Halifax fails to meet any of the more particular definitions of a city is even less so. It meets the common definition, and that is both obvious and enough. For those hung up on official delineations, the one here, for the "Western Region" of the "Urban Core" of HRM fits nicely. -- Lonewolf BC 20:52, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
If we accept that a city is "an inhabited place of greater size, population, or importance than a town or village" then the city you are talking about is the whole of urban HRM, is it not? WayeMason 22:20, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Urban Stats

Based on Stats Canada Urban Area Count for Nova Scotia at [3] . Later on stats for the communities of Halifax , Dartmouth and Bedford will be released --Sonyuser 17:12, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

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