EDRA56 Mobile Sessions

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EDRA56 Mobile Sessions

EDRA56 Halifax invites you to explore firsthand how Halifax exemplifies the conference theme, "Designing Communities for Climate Action and Resilience." This year EDRA56 Halifax is excited to include Mobile Sessions in the conference program. These sessions will offer attendees a place-based experience, featuring an overview of key urban interventions and community engagement projects in and around Halifax. The sessions will also highlight initiatives by local groups focused on advancing the designing communities for climate action and resilience.

Registration for mobile sessions is open. You may register here. To edit an existing registration, please sign into your account on www.edra.org. When logged in as the member, navigate to the manage profile page and select "Event Registrations." Click on the pencil icon to edit the registration. Modify the ticket option as necessary and proceed to check out.

MOBILE SESSION 1: Cogswell Interchange Redevelopment Project

May 30, 2025 - afternoon

Duration: 2.5 hours

Session Hosts: TBD – municipal planning experts involved in the project

Abstract: The former Cogswell Interchange is a 1960s highway project that cut off the historically diverse downtown neighborhood around Gottingen Street, during the same period that the black community of Africville was bulldozed and relocated to the Gottingen area. This interchange is now being redeveloped into a new neighbourhood that connects downtown with Halifax’s north end. It is one of the biggest city-building projects in Halifax’s history and a long overdue revitalization of the community. This tour will take participants through the history, planning, construction, and goals of the project.

Considerations: This is a walking tour, with some hills and uneven ground, located within a few blocks of the Convention Centre.

Ticket price: $20

MOBILE SESSION 2: Coastal Halifax & McNab’s Island

May 30, 2025 - afternoon

Duration: 4.5 hours

Session Host: Dr. Patricia Manuel, Dalhousie University

Abstract: This tour includes a short boat ride to the largest island in Halifax’s harbour, and a walking tour along woodland trails. Led by a specialist in planning for coastal adaptation and climate change, this session will address the changing climate and coastline of Nova Scotia – and the particular challenges to McNab’s Island, at the mouth of the Harbour. It will also address the evolution of planning issues related to the island and the development of interpretation planning by the society that has organized to support access to this scenic and historic place.

Considerations: Tour is via boat and by foot, with uneven ground and hills on the island.

Ticket price: $40

MOBILE SESSION 3: Peggy’s Cove Viewing Platform tour

May 30, 2025 - afternoon

Duration: 4.5 hours

Session Host: TBD – tour led by local architect

Abstract: Omar Gandhi Architects received a Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize in June 2024 for the firm’s work in creating an accessible viewing platform at Peggy’s Cove, NS, one of Canada’s most iconic sites, along the wind and wave-blasted Atlantic coast. The tour will consider the design and accessibility challenges of the project. Visitors will also be able to view the scenic coast of Nova Scotia and learn about the natural history of the cove.

Considerations: Bus trip is one hour each way. Walking tour is both over accessible infrastructure and the option to walk on extremely uneven ground and rocks – water safety warnings should be heeded.

Ticket price: $50

MOBILE SESSION 4: Dartmouth shoreline remediation tour

May 30, 2025 - afternoon

Duration: 3 hours

Session Host: Shauna Doll (Environmental Professional) and Emma Poirier (Jr. Environmental Professional) from HRM’s Environment and Climate Change team

Abstract: This tour will showcase three shoreline remediation projects in Dartmouth: Penhorn Lake, a newly established lakeshore naturalization project; Birch Cove, a one-year-old lakeshore naturalization project; and Shore Road, an in-progress living coastal shoreline project, situated on the Dartmouth harbour waterfront. Topics covered will include the risk of flooding to lake and coastal shorelines; the co-benefits of naturalization including flood mitigation and increased biodiversity; the role of community and community partners in shoreline protection; and the successes and challenges of implementing and maintaining nature-based solutions.

Considerations: Tour will be by bus and on foot, with some uneven ground.

Ticket price: $20