About

Shape Mumford Growth Society is a collective of citizens to advocate for the design and development of a complete community - a place where people can and want to live, work and play - on the West End mall Future Growth Node (FGN)

The West End is a pivotal crossroads for the movement of people, goods and traffic into and out of the city and throughout HRM.  It is important to all HRM citizens that this role remains.

The development of the West End Future Growth Node will impact, not only surrounding neighbourhoods, but all people in HRM.

Our Key Messages

  • Shape Mumford Growth (SMG) is pro-growth and development, including in our own backyard.

  • We are asking HRM to create a Master Neighbourhood Plan (MNP) for the West End Mall property that meets the vision and objectives for Future Growth Nodes (FGN) identified in the HRM Centre Plan.

    In other words, we are asking HRM to follow their own rules.

  • We believe in the wisdom of the citizen voice and advocate for our voices to be heard. As citizens, we expect to influence decision making with those elected to make choices on our behalf (municipal council and councilors and our provincial government).

  • Because the project is so massive in scale, the community, encompassing all neighbourhoods and thousands of people that encircle the development will be directly impacted by the West End Mumford redevelopment project.

    All citizens will be impacted.

  • All infrastructure services and, in particular, all forms of transit need to be reenvisioned.

Guiding Principles

  • Support Human Scale Design

    Population growth in Halifax necessitates development of liveable spaces to maintain the sense of community.

  • Source of Pride

    This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity can result in an outstanding community that is a source of pride for generations to come.

  • Affordable Housing

    Halifax is in desperate need for more affordable housing stock.

  • Respect

    Recognize and respect in communications and actions that all parties – HRM staff, etc… are worthy of respect and are rational people with potentially different perspectives and pressures.

  • Evidence-Based

    Policy development and decision making are based on urban design principles and solid research.

  • Alignment

    Society members, when participating in this work, communicate and act in accordance with these Guiding Principles. (see our SMG Charter)

Primary Actions

  • Advocate

    Advocate for the Master Neighbourhood Plan that meets HRM vision and objectives for a complete community design for Future Growth Node, as stated in the HRM Centre Plan.

    A design that meets community expectations and HRM standards for green space, and building shade (there will be more); proper supporting infrastructure such as roads, transportation, and services in place when required; reasonable, environmentally sound buildings and building height and community design.

  • Engage

    Engage fellow citizens in SMG cause and advocacy; and HRM Councilors, Councilor for District 9 Halifax, West Armdale, HRM staff and the developer on citizens concerns, questions and ideas.

    Listen.

    Create a critical mass of advocates when appropriate.

  • Research

    Become better informed about existing HRM standards and plans e.g. the Centre Plan, plans for FGNs; HRM planning policies and processes; the impact of the Housing Accelerator Fund agreement on FGNs and the Centre Plan; urban design; smart density design; environmental building design (including reference to height).

    Find evidenced-based data on urban design and community development projects that inform our advocacy.

  • Plan

    Create and update a timeline for taking action and monitor our progress.

  • Communicate and Share

    Utilizing our guiding principles and above primary actions, communicate relevant information with, and listen to HRM residents and citizen groups. Share lessons learned with any interested party(s).

  • Monitor

    Monitor progress of HRM and developer planning and action related to the development proposed for the West End Mall Future Growth Node.

    Compel HRM staff to lead meaningful engagement of citizens; ensure thorough and high-quality studies (transportation etc.) be completed and reviewed by HRM staff, and reference best-practices in urban design.

Outcome

A Source of Pride with a reasonably dense, well-serviced community that is a model for how to create livable spaces within existing cityscapes which meets modern and future community, environmental and urban design standards and principles.

Meet the Board of Directors

Dawn Burstall

PRESIDENT

Margaret Armour

MEMBER AT LARGE

Adrienne Malloy

VICE PRESIDENT

Terry Gallagher

MEMBER AT LARGE

Heidi Taylor

SECRETARY

Marjorie Sullivan

TREASURER

Peter Milley

MEMBER AT LARGE

Jocelyn Vine

MEMBER AT LARGE