Time lapse video of a Halifax neighborhood painting an intersection/block partying it up

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#Neighbors & Hoods#neighborhood#painting#party#street art#videos

This neighborhood in Halifax, Nova Scotia, got together to paint an intersection/have a block party. One of the people involved put together this time lapse video, and another neighborhood Homie let us in on the details, including an unexpected outcome from this community street art…

The design came about through a bunch of community visioning sessions, and all of the elements in the design reflect our particular neighbourhood, and what it was that people wanted to see. There’s a chicken to represent the chickens that live in the area, the historic North Street Church that’s now used as a performance and community space, some trees, the seniors’ building that’s down the street… all kinds of things. It was a lot of fun, and the painting coincided with a street party put on by the seniors residence to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

There had been a number of accidents at this corner because cars sometimes wouldn’t really stop, but I’ve noticed that even in the few days since it’s been up, cars are definitely more careful about stopping.

Apparently this is an effort to beautify a community and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. And I truly hope this becomes a “thing” in more neighborhoods, because not only does that look like one fun block party, but I’m loving the added side effect of better traffic patterns!

Do you think you could or would pull this off in your neighborhood?

About the Author: Megan Finley Horowitz

@meggyfin @meggyfin

I'm a 40-year-old potty-mouthed writer with late-diagnosed ADHD and a shit-ton of anxiety. I live in my hometown of Los Angeles with a husband, a daughter I never planned on having, and a senior rescue dog. Anything else you need to know can be gleaned from my instagram and my TikTok.

Comments on Time lapse video of a Halifax neighborhood painting an intersection/block partying it up

  2. I’ve seen lots of this kind of art in Portland, where I live. I wonder how one goes about getting permission from the city to do something like this (or maybe it’s better to just not ask permission)?

    • As someone who works for a municipality, I can say you honestly just have to ask! It’s really just the street block off that they care about, plus any environmental impact.

      (Not asking usually results in fines + immediate removal of blockages and people)

    • the organization responsible for the painted intersections in Portland is City Repair — http://www.cityrepair.org. really cool organization; I recommend checking out some of their events! they do a week(-ish)-long convergence and workshop series every May called the Village Building Convergence. anyway, they’ve been around long enough that they’ve developed a good relationship with the city and these days all their projects are done with the city’s blessing… but I don’t think it was always that way. check them out; they’re one of the things I miss most now that I don’t live in pdx anymore.

  4. I would also like to know if they got permission from the city or if they just did it. If they did just do it, how did the City respond? It is really beautiful and I hope others follow suit!

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