A Positive Outlook for 2018
As we embark on a new year in Halifax, we see before us rich opportunities to grow abroad, more innovative and more inclusive economy.
Together, we are taking up the challenge of finding Halifax’s niche in a rapidly-evolving knowledge economy. At City Hall, in our universities, in the research community and in companies from startups to large corporations, Halifax is reaching out to embrace the future.
At the same time, we know that as our city economy grows, and as technology advancements increasingly become a part of our everyday lives, some people thrive while others get left behind. This challenge represents a twofold opportunity for Halifax, to be a community that embraces innovation while harnessing the knowledge economy’s potential to enhance livability and social equity.
This is the true measure of success in the year ahead; how we advance as a city in a way that is beneficial to all residents, those who are finding us for the first time and those who have been here the longest. I hope 2018 is the year we take real action to collectively address poverty by creating more access to affordable housing, healthy food, transportation and better opportunities for education and employment.
After a difficult year on the global political front, let’s make room in Halifax in 2018 for a variety of viewpoints without the polarization that can impede our collective advancement as a modern, vital city.
We can design exciting new buildings that complement built heritage, just as we can build new homes while we instate new green space protections. We can encourage the continued growth of an innovation district in the heart of downtown without forsaking the other planks of our diverse economy that have long served us well. We can build bike lanes while still planning for pedestrians, new public transportation and even the future of cars. And, we can have a strong downtown while still supporting healthy, complete communities throughout the region.
As we head into 2018, let me leave you with this thought. City building is a feat of optimism, not boosterism; of belief, not blind faith; of hard work, not busy work. It is the job of the Mayor and Council, yes, but it is a responsibility we share with so many who want to see Halifax continue to build a city that is not only bigger but truly better.
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