CLARE, Benjamin – 2007

The Impact of the MacDonald Bridge on Growth in Dartmouth

The purpose of this study is to examine the growth spurred in Dartmouth by the opening of the Macdonald Bridge, connecting Dartmouth and Halifax, Nova Scotia. This analysis is divided into two different parts. The first is concerned with population growth before and after the opening of the Macdonald Bridge (1955). This portion is carried out using census statistics (both district and tract data). The second part of the analysis is concerned with building counts for a study area along Main Street and Highway 7 in Dartmouth. The building count analysis uses topographic maps from 1945-47, and sets of aerial photographs from 1954, and 1967-70 to analyze growth. Although this study does not fully confirm that the opening of the Macdonald Bridge caused development in Dartmouth, both portions of the analysis suggest that this was the case. The first part of the analysis revealed that there was a convincing rise in growth outside of the built-out portions of Old Dartmouth in the years just after the opening of the bridge. The second part of the analysis revealed that growth in the study area prior to the bridge was constrained to the inner zones, while most growth after the opening of the bridge occurred on the urban periphery with a distance-decay beyond, toward Lake Echo.