Municipal planning and port administration planning for port cities: Lessons for Halifax

Ports are nodes, man-made features which are essentially points of contact between maritime and land based transportation routes. The transfer of cargo takes place at the port facility as it moves on to its final destinations. Ports and their surrounding urban environments have often been treated as separate entities with the result that ports have not been studied much by the planning profession, despite the fact a port exerts "... an influence far out of proportions to its size." (Ray 1970).;The central question to this thesis is whether municipal planning and port administration should be integrated or more closely linked together. The area of focus in this thesis is metropolitan Halifax and its port. Areas linking the two are explored in order to determine the depth of interaction, and if a need for integration between the two exists. Examples of other municipalities and their relationships with the ports (and port organizations) within their municipal boundaries are investigated.;Most of the cases examined had good working relationships which were found to be beneficial to both municipalities and the ports, though the degree of interaction varied. Overall, the results of the thesis suggest that while the links shared by the City and the Port Corporation are varied, there does not exist a need for the Port to be administered by the City nor for municipal planners to become more involved in port administration. What is recommended are processes to facilitate improved communication between the Port Corporation and the Development and Planning Department of the City of Halifax. These processes may take the form of joint collaboration on specific projects or membership on formal structured programs addressing common concerns.