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Full-Text Articles in Urban Studies and Planning
Issue Brief: Asset Management For Stormwater, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Communities Learning Network
Issue Brief: Asset Management For Stormwater, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Communities Learning Network
Sustainable Communities Capacity Building
Asset management is a strategic approach to maintaining and sustaining infrastructure in order to meet the needs of the community at the lowest overall life cycle cost. This approach helps communities know how and where to prioritize limited funds in order to achieve the greatest benefit. Often applied to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, this method is well suited to managing any assets, including stormwater systems.
This issue brief is intended to introduce local governments to the asset management process and to show how it can be applied in managing stormwater assets. It was adapted from an appendix written by …
The Cost Of Green Infrastructure: Worth The Investment?, Martha Sheils
The Cost Of Green Infrastructure: Worth The Investment?, Martha Sheils
Green Infrastructure
Is GI worth the investment?
• LID techniques often lead to cost savings when we look at WHOLE PROJECT COSTS
• Natural Infrastructure investments for flood control, drinking water protection and wildlife habitat can yield SIGNIFICANT AVOIDED COSTS and additional co-benefits to communitites
Issue Brief: Auditing Your Town's Development Code For Barriers To Sustainable Water Management, New England Environmental Finance Center
Issue Brief: Auditing Your Town's Development Code For Barriers To Sustainable Water Management, New England Environmental Finance Center
Sustainable Communities Capacity Building
This issue brief is intended for town officials who want to understand how development regulations in their community affect local water resources. Municipal development codes – the set of regulations that control the built environment – can have a great influence on the availability of clean and healthy water for drinking, recreation, and commercial uses. This in turn affects the community’s social, environmental, and economic vitality.
Comprehensive plans, zoning codes, and building standards are just a few examples of regulations that intentionally or unintentionally regulate the way water is transported, collected and absorbed. Regulations that produce dispersed development or large …
Issue Brief: Saving By Mitigating, University Of Louisville, New England Environmental Finance Center
Issue Brief: Saving By Mitigating, University Of Louisville, New England Environmental Finance Center
Sustainable Communities Capacity Building
Natural disasters can cause loss of life, inflict damage to buildings and infrastructure, and have devastating consequences for a community’s economic, social, and environmental well-being. Hazard mitigation means reducing damages from disasters.
Local governments have the responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. Proactive mitigation policies and actions help reduce risk and create safer, more disaster-resilient communities. Mitigation is an investment in your community’s future safety, equity, and sustainability.
Sustainable Water Management On Brownfields Sites, Ryan Fenwick, New England Environmental Finance Center
Sustainable Water Management On Brownfields Sites, Ryan Fenwick, New England Environmental Finance Center
Sustainable Communities Capacity Building
This practice guide was developed by the Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN) through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Through a cooperative agreement with HUD, EFCN is providing capacity building and technical assistance to recipients of grants from the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an interagency collaboration that aims to help towns, cities, and regions develop in more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable ways.
Green Infrastructure Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center
Green Infrastructure Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center
Sustainable Communities Capacity Building
Green infrastructure is an approach for managing stormwater that uses vegetation and soils to capture and treat rainwater where it falls. Unlike single-purpose gray infrastructure, green infrastructure realizes multiple benefits at once, including flood mitigation, improved water and air quality, community beautification, provision of recreational opportunities, and energy and cost savings. This resource directory is intended to help communities design, implement, fund, and monitor green infrastructure practices and programs. It was compiled by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. …
A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings (Presentation), New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service
A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings (Presentation), New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service
Water
This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …
Culvert Material Cost Comparison, New England Environmental Finance Center
Culvert Material Cost Comparison, New England Environmental Finance Center
Water
The following tables provide a detailed look at the role that culvert material and culvert diameter play in the overall cost of a culvert replacement project.
Sustainability Initiatives In East Bayside Neighborhood Portland, Maine, Garvan Donegan, Henry Heyburn, Caitlyn Horose, Matt Klebes, Jennifer Riley, Damon Yakovleff, New England Environmental Finance Center
Sustainability Initiatives In East Bayside Neighborhood Portland, Maine, Garvan Donegan, Henry Heyburn, Caitlyn Horose, Matt Klebes, Jennifer Riley, Damon Yakovleff, New England Environmental Finance Center
Planning
This is a bundle containing research on sustainability initiatives that could be implemented in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland, ME. These six essays were prepared by the Spring, 2010 Sustainable Communities Class known as CPD 602 at the University of Southern Maine. The class is part of the core curriculum of the Community Planning and Development program of the Muskie School of Public Service at the university. The instructor for the class was Samuel Merrill, Ph. D. who is also director of the New England Environmental Finance Center at the University. These papers were prepared in conjunction with Alan …
South Burlington, Vt: Mixed-Use Comes To O’Dell Parkway, Ryan Neale, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer
South Burlington, Vt: Mixed-Use Comes To O’Dell Parkway, Ryan Neale, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer
Planning
The proposed redevelopment of an underutilized property along major travel routes in South Burlington presents possibilities for infill development. The City of South Burlington, the developer, neighbors, and a variety of public and nonprofit financial partners work together to create a mixed-use residential/commercial development to meet a variety of housing and community needs. The case study describes the obstacles overcome to make redevelopment possible through zoning and regulatory changes, negotiation with local residents over traffic and other concerns, support from state and local housing advocates, and political leadership; as well as the development’s application of smart growth principles.
South Burlington Vt: New Urbanist South Village, Jack Kartez, Richard Barringer
South Burlington Vt: New Urbanist South Village, Jack Kartez, Richard Barringer
Planning
The 220 acre master plan for South Village, the largest project in the City of South Burlington’s history, encompasses multiple housing types and innovative provisions for affordable housing. It integrates housing with open space and natural resource conservation, including a major Community Supported Agriculture project developed by a nonprofit partner, the Intervale Foundation. While not a mixed-use project (that is, commercial as well as residential development), South Village nonetheless represents a qualitative change in approach for South Burlington by incorporating large-scale open space preservation as part of development and multiple housing-types in one project. The case study recounts events leading …
Portland Me: Affordable Housing V. Open Space, Patrick Wright, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer
Portland Me: Affordable Housing V. Open Space, Patrick Wright, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer
Planning
Amid an acknowledged “affordable housing crisis”, a first-time developer approaches the City to release part of a tax-acquired property, promising a smart-growth development that would provide sorely needed starter homes for working families. The case highlights the complications of balancing competing interests in Portland ME. It shows where rational planning fails in the presence of strong neighborhood opposition, a disjointed city staff structure, and the absence of political will among City Councilors. It highlights the need for champions within local government when a project evokes competing interests. It demonstrates the extent to which “words matter” to policy outcomes, and who …
Selected Lid Projects In New England, New England Environmental Finance Center
Selected Lid Projects In New England, New England Environmental Finance Center
Planning
Examples of low impact development (LID) projects in each state in New England.
Mansfield Ct: Planning A New Village Center, Maggie Jones, Richard Barringer
Mansfield Ct: Planning A New Village Center, Maggie Jones, Richard Barringer
Planning
The case follows the development of a plan for a new village center in Storrs, the central village of Mansfield, Connecticut. A process that was transparent and inclusive of the community members yielded a plan that gained the approval of the Town, the landowner (the University of Connecticut), and the citizenry. The process relied on the mending of fences, the leadership of key participants, and an innovative strategy that included development of a nonprofit corporation and creative use of grant money. While zoning changes are still in the works, the first stage of building goes forward.
South Kingstown Ri: New Zoning For An Historic Mill, Maggie Jones, Richard Barringer
South Kingstown Ri: New Zoning For An Historic Mill, Maggie Jones, Richard Barringer
Planning
The village of Peace Dale in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, developed around several mills that commenced operations in the 1800s. One mill, known as the Palisades, is still partially active and in excellent condition, but much of its square footage is unutilized. A citizens’ group of artists and business people joined with the mill owners and the town of South Kingstown to develop new zoning regulations to make more flexible the permitted uses for the mill site. The proposed zoning will allow the mill complex to feature a mix of retail, residential, and manufacturing uses, while preserving …
Changing Maine, 1960-2010: Teaching Guide, Richard Barringer, New England Environmental Finance Center
Changing Maine, 1960-2010: Teaching Guide, Richard Barringer, New England Environmental Finance Center
Maine History & Policy Development
Unlike forty years ago, none of us is now certain what the future holds for Maine – except that it will be different. Maine has been transformed by the events of the recent decades. We have come into a new world, a new time – a new historical era, if you will. This new era, like previous eras in Maine history, will require of us new ways of thinking, new ways of understanding, new ways of organizing ourselves as a community of people, if the values and culture we share and cherish are to endure and flourish.
Promoting Low Impact Development In Your Community, New England Environmental Finance Center
Promoting Low Impact Development In Your Community, New England Environmental Finance Center
Planning
Low Impact Development (LID) is an approach to stormwater management and site development that is gaining popularity throughout the country. Its attractiveness lies in its potential to lessen off-site stormwater impacts, reduce costs to municipalities and developers, and promote development that is “softer on the land” compared with typical traditional development. The approach, which is applicable to residential, commercial and industrial projects, and in urban, suburban and rural settings, often is linked with efforts by governments and citizens to foster more sustainable communities.
Stormwater Utility Fees: Considerations & Options For Interlocal Stormwater Working Group (Iswg), New England Environmental Finance Center
Stormwater Utility Fees: Considerations & Options For Interlocal Stormwater Working Group (Iswg), New England Environmental Finance Center
Water
Stormwater utilities are a concept whose time seems to have arrived. Established by relatively few communities in the 1970s as a method of funding flood control measures, stormwater utilities now exist in over 400 municipalities and counties throughout the United States. During the next 10 years, their numbers are expected to swell dramatically – by one estimate to over 2,000 by the year 2014.
The reasons for this growth are multifold. Federal stormwater regulations passed in the 1980s (Phase I of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program, or NPDES), motivated many larger communities to seek alternative funding sources and …
Maine Food Trader, New England Environmental Finance Center, University Of Southern Maine
Maine Food Trader, New England Environmental Finance Center, University Of Southern Maine
Local Food Systems
A free website for buying, selling, trading and donating local food. Keep food from going to waste and help make food production a good way to make a living in Maine.
Model State Land Use Legislation For New England, New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service
Model State Land Use Legislation For New England, New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service
Legislation
Sprawl is neither the ordained nor the inevitable outcome upon the New England landscape. A coordinated response to sprawl by the public and private sectors is possible, and could dramatically improve land use patterns and reduce the cost of local government. For the New England states, such a response would include, among other elements, legislation to eliminate existing gaps in the land use laws of each state – gaps that presently encourage or sanction sprawling development. It would also include incentives for municipalities to think beyond their borders and to act with greater efficiency and effect. It is the purpose …
Maine Ag Trader, New England Environmental Finance Center, University Of Southern Maine
Maine Ag Trader, New England Environmental Finance Center, University Of Southern Maine
Local Food Systems
A free classified advertising website for listing anything you need to make your Maine food business succeed.
Environmental Finance Charette, Hyannis Park On Lewis Bay: A Case Study, New England Environmental Finance Center, Environmental Finance Center Of University Of Maryland
Environmental Finance Charette, Hyannis Park On Lewis Bay: A Case Study, New England Environmental Finance Center, Environmental Finance Center Of University Of Maryland
Water
The town of Yarmouth currently has a $30 million septic sludge treatment plant and transport lines in place. The vast majority of the dwellings and businesses in the Hyannis Park area are on septic systems that are viable and Title 5 compliant, regardless of age. Conventional, "non-failing" septic systems, however, were never intended to remove form their effluent nutrients such as nitrogen. These have become recognized as an environmental threat only as our understanding of the impacts of excess nutrients on ecosystems has increased in recent decades.