Ted Rutland

“African People Pulling Together”

M.Albiani — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:36:20 +0000

African Nova Scotians Consider Joining the African Union at Recent Town Hall Meeting

“I’m a black man from a hostile environment,” says David Horne.

Designs on Downtown Halifax

Ted — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:04:37 +0000

Major changes to downtown development vetted at two-day public hearing

Halifax City Hall was abuzz on Tuesday and Wednesday, as both proponents and opponents of a new vision for downtown Halifax discussed the latter’s merits and drawbacks in a public hearing. The new vision includes items like pedestrianized streets and new money to maintain heritage buildings. The most contentious issue, however, proved to be a proposed revamping of the approvals process for property developments in the downtown core. Proponents of the new approach said it would stimulate investment, promote economic development, and create career opportunities for young people; opponents countered that it would eliminate hard-won development regulations and give developers freer reign to transform the downtown as they please. The new rules and policies emerged from a nearly three year process of public consultations and negotiations called HRM by Design, and mayor Peter Kelly has asked City Council to approve them. The two-day hearing was therefore the last chance for Haligonians to have their voices heard, formally, before Council votes on the proposal on Tuesday, May 12. Though their evaluations differed widely, all speakers seemed to agree that much is at stake in the upcoming vote. Indeed, the outcome may shape the city’s future for decades to come.

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Recreating the City

Ted — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:58:20 +0000

"Creative City" Expert Speaks in Halifax

On Tuesday, the Greater Halifax Partnership hosted urban expert Charles Landry as part of its “Building Our Future” lecture series at the Westin Nova Scotian. An urban strategy consultant and author of The Creative City, Landry has a straightforward message: to thrive in today’s world, cities need to nurture their capacity for creativity by linking their existing qualities as a place to a broad, inspiring vision of the place they could one day become. “Creativity” has become a major buzzword in discussions of urban politics across the country and further afield. Supporters of “creative city” strategies see them as a way of building a competitive advantage in an age of liberalized trade and footloose investment; detractors see them as a feel-good glaze on increasingly reckless business-as-usual. Whatever their merits, at a time when the “new economy” is in tatters, and frameworks for a new new economy are being debated in communities and all levels of government, ideas like Landry’s are likely to find a receptive audience.

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