Africville was a small neighbourhood in the north end of Halifax, Nova Scotia, populated entirely by black families from a wide variety of origins. The area was destroyed during the 1960s and the inhabitants relocated to public housing projects downtown or in the suburbs, most near Uniacke Square, Mulgrave Park, or Spryfield. Most of the former area of Africville is now occupied by the feeder roads that service the A. Murray McKay Bridge, the construction of which during the late 1960s provided one of the motivations for Africville's demolition.

Settled in earnest after the War of 1812, the town of Africville was officially founded in the 1840s. The town, which held some 400 people, never varied significantly in size or character; from its inception to its end, it remained a ramshackle collection of houses which the Halifax municipality did not extend even basic services like water service, sewage or lighting. As the town of Halifax expanded, Africville became a preferred site for all types of undesirable industries and facilities -- prisons, slaughterhouses, even a depository for fecal waste.

Though Africville was an extremely poor community, the social cohesion of its residents was strong. They fought and won the right in the 1950s to be extended municipal services, but the city council's agreement in principle was never translated into any action. By 1960, the area was being eyed with intent by developers because of its prime location and the planned construction of a second bridge to improve links between Dartmouth and Halifax. Also ideal for developers was the fact that many of Africville's inhabitants were technically squatters with no legal title to their homes or land, making them exceptionally vulnerable to outside pressure. Though its residents fought it bitterly, Africville was destroyed between 1964 and 1967 and its residents relocated to slum housing further away from the city or poorly constructed public housing downtown.

The relocation programme has been criticized for its poor planning as it failed to take into account the way the people lived. Most were simply transplanted into a city and community they did not know, in impersonal apartments. Social networks were disrupted, causing depression and a great deal of social distress. To this day the areas of resettlement have a reputation for poverty, crime, and other related social problems.

For many Nova Scotians, Africville remains a symbol of racial discrimination. The relocated residents have almost universally remained impoverished, and few if any have benefitted economically from the destruction of their former homes in the name of development. Even today, Africville is little heard of outside of the province.