Planning

Methods for analyzing Canadian neighbourhoods have developed principally from studies of large cities such as Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Statistical analyses on
neighbourhood change in Canada, moreover, have adopted Census Tracts (CTs) as their main geographic units of analysis. However, using CTs as a proxy for neighbourhoods
in smaller cities may generate misleading conclusions because such units cover too large an area and potentially mask heterogeneity of populations living within them. This phenomenon is known as the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP) and has been investigated by geographers. Data on material, social, and structural conditions of neighbourhoods in Halifax, Nova Scotia from the 2006 Canadian Census are explored to examine the degree of the MAUP in this smaller city and to assess the usefulness of Dissemination Areas as an alternative unit of analysis for small cities. We also offer insight on how the MAUP affects analysis and make suggestions as to how planners can adjust their analyses with this in mind.

The literature on neighbourhood change in large cities describes changing dynamics for inner cities and inner suburbs. This paper examines neighbourhood change in a smaller city: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. As in larger cities, extremes of poverty and affluence and differences in social attributes (such as race and educational achievement) co-exist within neighbourhoods and have changed over time. We profile neighbourhood change in two inner-city and two suburban areas where incomes are highly stratified and spatially patterned. The trajectory of change in these neighbourhoods reflects the influence of scale, economic and cultural conditions, public policy decisions, and the legacy of urban history and geography. In mid-sized cities, social and spatial polarization may not be as extreme as seen in large cities, but processes of neighbourhood change that generate gentrification and suburban decline are still at play.