Events Guide: Imagine

HALIFAX –  In 2005, Halifax’s north end collective consciousness came together to sprout Imagine Bloomfield in an effort to renew and preserve a nexus of history, community and cultural activity relevant to the needs of the area. Since 2005, needs assessments have been conducted, consultants hired, volunteers amassed and finally in 2010 a MasterPlan for redevelopment of the site was tabled and accepted unanimously by Halifax Regional Council. Recently, Imagine Bloomfield reported that “an implementation process report is expected to begin being acted upon in 2011.” Without saying, Imagine Bloomfield is an incredible project which has been inspired by the the passion and dedication of a group of people and has successfully inspired city planners to imagine new ideas for their property to move a little quicker to get this development off of the ground. Based on my own observations and experiences of developments and planning in Halifax for the last 9 years, the skeptic in me still wonders when this project will in fact bloom.

Seriously – IMAGINE – planning in Halifax.

From March 10- 12, 2011, Dalhousie University graduate students from the School of Planning have organized a conference titled IMAGINE. The intent of IMAGINE is to explore long-term planning through speakers and activities to create an understanding of how long-term planning should and can influence how cities are planned today. The conference will facilitate the sharing of ideas and lessons learned between professionals, academics and the community, while exploring a combination of initiatives and ideas from a wide range of speakers with diverse backgrounds.

IMAGINE organizers have pulled in some interesting keynote speakers, including Bruce Tonn hailing in from the University of Tennessee where he teaches in the Department of Political Science. Dr. Tonn will be speaking on Thursday, March 10th about “very long-term planning. Ahem –  Dr. Tonn is internationally known for his research and writings in the fields of future studies, energy policy, environmental policy, and decision making under uncertainty. Join your community to learn and talk about “very long-term planning” and to pick-up some tools to make this “very” project possible.

WHAT: IMAGINE, planning conference
WHERE: 5410 Spring Garden Road, School of Planning – Dalhousie University
WHEN: March 10 – 12, 2011
HOW MUCH: FREE – Registration required.

Each year the Dalhousie School of Planning, together with government and community partners, hosts a conference module, during the winter term. Students of the Master of Planning program organize the conference. Planning students, faculty and professionals, community groups and citizens discuss and debate current topics in planning and community design. The conference serves as a forum for advancing public awareness of planning and planning-related issues as well as offering a networking opportunity for professionals and planning students alike.

Visit the conferences schedule, for more information on inspiring talks, innovative planning concepts and social events.

Photo by Spacing Magazine.