Recommendations on How to Cope With the Rapid Growth in the City

Persuasive Memo Report
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Date:February, 22nd 2021
To:Mayor and Councilors
From:Director of Urban Planning
Subject:Recommendations on how to Cope with the Rapid Growth in our City
Halifax city has experienced high-speed growth in the past year. From July 1st, 2021, to July 1st, 2022, a 4.4% growth has made the municipality the second-growing city in the country (Patil, 2023). With this growth, we must develop strategic measures and have a proactive approach to urban planning and development, as failure to do so will lead the city to a downfall. With development pressures mounting, the task ahead may seem daunting. However, as a Director of Urban Planning, I believe that we can rise to the occasion and create a city that is prosperous and sustainable, and deeply connected to its residents' needs and aspirations. The Chief planner has tasked me to present recommendations that will help the city to cope with its rapid growth while leveraging the city's strength to tackle our biggest challenges head-on, for I believe that together, we can build a city worthy of the 21st century to the thriving population and for the future.
Affordable Housing
The issue of housing remains a prevalent problem in the region, and with the increased population growth, the demand is expected to be much higher. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (2023), the rental vacancy rate reduced from 1.9% in 2020 to 1% in 2021, reaching near-historic lows and contributing to the increasing homeless population in the city. With rentals reaching near historic lows, the affordability of the rentals is still an issue. A report released by Knight Frank LLP (2022) identified that the price of a home in Halifax went up by 30% in 2021, while a report released by Novascotia (n.d.) on the wages trend showed that the employee pay rate only increased by 2% in the same year, which is much lower than the adjusted inflation rate. As a city, it is near impossible to advance our GDP with increased homelessness rates, as this means that there will be decreased workforce participation and increased healthcare cost. We can implement measures such as inclusionary zoning policies and provide tax incentives for developers.
Implement Sustainable Development Incentives
Today, increased attention to strategic planning has been paid in response to society's rapid and extensive changes, such as increased environmental awareness. According to Martínez-Zarzoso et al. (2023), the incidence of climate change-related disasters is set to increase in the coming years affecting many regions. The ability to reduce climate change-induced probl...