Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 02

38 / Canadian Government Executive // March/April 2018 SMART CITIES Smart Te for Soc By Halifax Regional Municipality I n July 2017, a local company unveiled a “virtual statue” on the Halifax Waterfront of philanthropist Ruth Goldbloom, who was a driving force behind the creation of Pier 21 Canadian Immigration Museum. This initiative speaks to a dynamic spirit in Halifax, one that embraces creative change and growth. New residential developments downtown, along with lively res- taurants and entertainment venues, are luring people back to the centre. Creative small businesses are driving a revitalization of the north end and downtown Dartmouth. The municipality is finding new ways of applying technology to make public services more convenient and accessible for citizens, from public wi-fi downtown to smart parking meters and modern, reliable transit. Upgraded web-based services offer citizens better access to services throughout the far-flung municipality. Concurrent with the digital transformation, Halifax Regional Council has affirmed a renewed focus on social development and healthy, liveable communities. This has seen the creation of an office for inclusion and diversity, as well as the development of strategic partnerships to work toward equitable opportunity for citizens across the municipality. Under an exchange of services agreement in 1996, social assis- tance programs became the responsibility of the Province, while municipalities took on the management of local police forces and local streets and roads. Despite this separation of responsibility, the municipal role in programs such as policing and public safety, recreation services, transit, economic development and even zon- ing by-laws gives the municipality an overriding interest in the health and safety of its citizens. While recognizing jurisdictional boundaries, the municipality has made changes and introduced programs to improve social equity, such as municipal no-or low-cost recreational programs for children. A low-income transit pass was introduced as a pilot program, and has become a permanent offering. The municipality and the province are partnering on an exciting new pilot project that would put transit passes in the hands of all employment support recipients and their dependents to help build a more socially in- clusive community. In 2016, Halifax converted an out-of-service transit bus to a mo- bile food market to serve areas with limited access to healthy af- fordable food. The service has been welcomed by citizens and has earned national recognition for its approach to food security. The mobile food market is supported by a number of community orga- nizations and local businesses, in addition to the municipality and the Nova Scotia Health Authority. As these initiatives proceed, they will support the implementa- tion of comprehensive strategies developed by the municipality alone or in partnership with other levels of government, business, and community organizations. The Public Safety Strategy, which evolved from earlier crime re- duction efforts, takes a broad, collaborative approach to improving public safety through four priority areas: resident resilience, safe places, strong communities, and crime prevention and reduction. The Integrated Mobility Plan incorporates the principles of complete communities with integrated mobility choices, a focus on moving people and goods instead of vehicles, managing con- gestion, and providing more options for sustainable, enjoyable, and healthy mobility for residents across the region. The Plan re- flects the participation of all municipal departments, as well as the Nova Scotia Health Authority, and its implementation will see a shift in emphasis from the movement of vehicles to the movement of people and goods throughout the municipality. Since 2014, the municipality has been a participant in the Hous- ing and Homelessness Partnership, a collaborative effort includ- ing the Province of Nova Scotia, CMHC, investment property own- ers, and community organizations working with homeless people. The Partnership’s objective is to eliminate homelessness and housing poverty and, as an initial phase, has adopted a Housing First strategy to support chronic and repeatedly homeless indi- viduals to establish a secure home.