Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Multi-Criteria Decision Making When Planning Sustainable Multimodal Transportation Routes In A Linear Corridor, Marie Louis

Doctoral Dissertations

In urban and suburban locations, public transit can be seen as an effective mode of daily transportation. The majority of the time, travelers would seek the cheapest, shortest, and possibly most eco-friendly means of transit. When designing public transit network systems, transportation planners and decision-makers, with input from stakeholders, should strive to optimize transportation services to meet the needs of the population most efficiently and at the lowest cost, that is, providing a transportation system that s the three E's of the sustainability concept: environment, social equity, and economic. Previous studies have focused on sustainability as the primary concern in …

Planning [And] The Sanitary City: Understanding Implications Of Community-Based Ecological Sanitation Reforms In The U.S., Catherine K. Bryars

Masters Theses

Though most commonly regarded as a revolutionary public health invention, the introduction of conventional wastewater sanitation systems has a mixed legacy in the U.S. A growing body of research links sewage-based sanitation systems with nationwide ecosystem degradation and an unsustainable dependence on vast inputs of materials and resources. In addition to contributing to chronic problems across the country, today these wastewater infrastructures are in various states of disrepair. The EPA estimates that at least $270 billion must be invested in coming years to prevent massive sanitary failures, but municipalities are increasingly unable to fund these expensive (re)investments in buried water-carriage …

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

Based on review of climate projections for the …

Visual Interventions And The “Crises In Representation” In Environmental Anthropology: Researching Environmental Justice In A Hungarian Romani Neighborhood, Krista Harper

Anthropology Department Faculty Publication Series

Participatory visual research, or "visual interventions" (Pink 2007) allow environmental anthropologists to respond to three different “crises of representation”: 1) the critique of ethnographic representation presented by postmodern, postcolonial, and feminist anthropologists, 2) the constructivist critique of nature and the environment, and 3) the “environmental justice” critique demanding representation for the environmental concerns of communities of color. Participatory visual research integrates community members in the process of staking out a research agenda, conducting fieldwork and interpreting data, and communicating and applying research findings. Our project used the Photovoice methodology to generate knowledge and documentation related to environment injustices faced by …

Visual Interventions And The “Crises In Representation” In Environmental Anthropology: Researching Environmental Justice In A Hungarian Romani Neighborhood, Krista Harper

Krista M. Harper

Participatory visual research, or "visual interventions" (Pink 2007) allow environmental anthropologists to respond to three different “crises of representation”: 1) the critique of ethnographic representation presented by postmodern, postcolonial, and feminist anthropologists, 2) the constructivist critique of nature and the environment, and 3) the “environmental justice” critique demanding representation for the environmental concerns of communities of color. Participatory visual research integrates community members in the process of staking out a research agenda, conducting fieldwork and interpreting data, and communicating and applying research findings. Our project used the Photovoice methodology to generate knowledge and documentation related to environment injustices faced by …

Haverhill Street Corridor Study: Methuen, Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The City of Methuen’s Department of Planning and Community Development hired a team of students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Master’s in Regional Planning studio class to examine the growth impacts of a potential highway interchange reconfiguration. Exit 46 of Interstate 93 in Methuen is a failed interchange, and will likely be reconfigured in the next ten years. Methuen, a middle class city of 44,000 midway between Boston, MA and Manchester, NH, is currently experiencing significant growth pressures. The reconfigured interchange will only add to these pressures.

In consultation with the client, the studio team focused its analysis on …

Mill Redevelopment In Rural Massachusetts Why There? And Not Here?, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The purpose of this work is to identify both the obstacles and successful strategies of mill redevelopment in rural Massachusetts. While redevelopment has occurred in the historic industrial corridors of the Blackstone and Merrimac rivers, it has been largely absent in rural areas of Massachusetts. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to explain the forces that have acted as a catalyst for mill redevelopment in these areas, and examine why that has not occurred in rural New England. Our research has found that there are several obstacles that exist in rural areas that make mill redevelopment particularly challenging. However, …

Providence Place: The Development Of A Downtown Mall, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This study examines the history of urban mall development in the United States and the role of such sites in widespread revitalization efforts that are intended to protect the city from further decline and bring it back to its once thriving existence, before the mass relocations to the suburbs.

Providence Place in downtown Providence, Rhode Island is the primary focus of the study which has three objectives. The first objective is to analyze the development patterns of suburban malls in the Providence region. The second is to identify the economic factors that prompted the development of a large scale downtown …

The Valley Of Innovation Springfield Biotechnology Summary Report, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Valley of Innovation is a new industrial region that is being formed as the result of recent technology transfers and significant growth in the biotechnology sector. The region includes part of western Massachusetts along with Central Connecticut and runs from north to south along the I-91 corridor, following the general borders of the Connecticut River Valley. The region extends from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, through Springfield, Massachusetts, and continues past Hartford, Connecticut, to New Haven, and down I-95 towards New York State.

Currently in embryonic form, the region has the potential to grow rapidly. It is nurtured …

The Revitalization Of The Morningside Neighborhood, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The purpose of this project was to provide the Morningside Neighborhood Action Council (MNAC) with reuse options for sites within the Morningside Neighborhood. The two connected goals were to develop reuse options for vacant buildings and lots and for the soon to be vacated Berkshire County House of Corrections and Jail.

Methods the studio team employed in this project include literature review, interviews, field work, inventorying and mapping. These methods allowed the studio team to gain a proper understanding of the issues, needs and desires of the neighborhood and to make recommendations based on them.

The studio team found 11 …

A Critical Assessment Of Master Plans, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

We would like to thank the following individuals for their support and guidance throughout the course of this project.

Our Client:

Mr. Stephen Smith, Executive Director of the Southern Regional Planning and Economic Development District

Our Professors:

John Mullin, PhD., AICP

Rick Taupier, PhD.

David Winsor, AIA

The Purpose of this report is to evaluate master plans for the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District. This project stems from Massachusetts Executive Order 385, which requires planning agencies to review their plans and policies regarding land use and growth management, and to make them as consistent with one another as …

The Implications And Development Of Telecommunications, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates that personal wireless companies develop their systems so that adequate service is provided to the public. Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 governs federal, state and local government oversight of siting of "personal wireless service" facilities (Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, 1996). The FCC published a Fact Sheet in April of 1996 which summarizes the key provisions of section 704. The summary is as follows:

Local zoning authority over the placement, construction., and modification of personal wireless service facilities is maintained by the Act. However, zoning may not:

1. discriminate between different personal wireless …

Creating A Strong Image For The Economic Enhancement Of Downtown Ayer, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The recent closure of Fort Devens has had an undeniable impact on business in downtown Ayer, Massachusetts, deflating both the town's population level and its economy. Downtown business in Ayer has traditionally served several surrounding communities, and it is fundamental to the survival of Ayer' s economy that this business continue to thrive. Facing a future that will lack the economic boost formerly associated with Fort activity, business owners and the town must make a greater effort to attract downtown commerce. In the midst of these changes, residents and business owners have participated with town officials in planning for the …

Looking At Market Square: Toward A Development Concept For Chicopee Center, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This report presents a series of marketing and economic development strategies for the central business district in Chicopee Center known as the Market Square area. The City of Chicopee, along with the cities of Holyoke and Springfield, is part of the urban center of the Pioneer Valley region. Like many older industrial cities, and like many cities with a small downtown area, Chicopee finds its economic fortunes at an ebb. Although Chicopee is certainly not a city in distress, it is believed that steps should be taken to ensure that the Market Square area does not slip into serious decline. …

Industrial Lands Survey Worcester, Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The purpose of this report is to provide the Worcester City Manager's Office of Planning and Community Development with an inventory of industrially zoned properties within the City's designated Economic Opportunity Areas (EOA): Southern District, Pullman Street, Greendale, and Northeast. This inventory includes a database consisting of property information for all four EOAs, as well as a more detailed analysis of the Main South Industrial Cluster of the Southern District EOA.

The first two chapters of the report provide a brief introduction to the City and the project, highlighting the economic history of Worcester and the region. As the region …

Company-Produced Housing, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

It is getting harder and harder for people working in urbanized areas to find affordable housing near their workplace. As new urbanized office and industrial areas expand and the cost of housing increases, employees are finding themselves having to commute longer distances between work and home. This results in traffic congestion, increased pollution and decreased employee satisfaction. Some companies are finding that the lack of locally available and affordable housing is making it harder to recruit and retain employees.

One solution to this problem is for large corporations to develop housing for their employees within walking distance of the job, …

Towards Restoration Of The Urban Village: Proposals For Mason Square Springfield, Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Mason Square Development Corporation (MSDC), a non-profit group supported by federal block grants has sponsored significant improvements in the economic and social welfare of State Street - the commercial spine of Mason Square. In the past, MSDC has promoted single projects along State Street, but is now seeking a more integrated approach to economic development. Seeing economic vitality as integral to community development, the purpose of this work is twofold. First, we examine Mason Square's rich heritage as a neighborhood system of mixed land uses, taking particular note of the current efforts to try to attract investors, visitors, and …

Adaptive Reuse Of Historic Mills In The Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Uxbridge, Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This study was made possible by the support of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission. In particular, we would like to thank James R. Pepper, the Executive Director, and Nancy L. Brittain, the community planner for the Corridor. Mr. Pepper's vision and political skills were invaluable for initiating this project. Ms. Brittain provided essential guidance and a much-needed understanding of the local community, economy, and needs. We would also like to thank Professors Jack Ahern, Mark Lindhult, and our department head, John Mullin, for their valuable advice and comments on the study and report.

The Blackstone River Valley …

Municipal Economic Analysis Forces That Drive The Local Economy, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This project examines the economies of 13 municipalities in Southeast Massachusetts. Seven of the towns are located in Bristol County: Acushnet, Berkley, Dighton, Freetown, Raynham, Rehoboth and Westport. Five are located in Plymouth County: Carver, Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester. And one, Plainville, is located in Norfolk County.

The Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) has asked the Center for Economic Development to look at the forces which drive the local economies. SRPEDD has asked for some of the data to be shown over time so as to illustrate changes in the local marketplace. Examples of the data …

A Revitalization Study Main Street Returns For The Future Gardner, Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This Regional Planning studio project was undertaken for the Gardner Industrial Foundation ("the Foundation"). The Foundation requested that we make development recommendations for a 20 acre site along Main Street, adjacent to the "Central Business District" of Gardner, Massachusetts. The Site, containing mostly vacant manufacturing facilities, is a large and visually significant part of the downtown area. It is visible from Route 2, the main transportation highway in the region and is the "gateway property" to Main Street and the Central Business District after exiting Route 2 and heading downtown. The Site is fast becoming an eyesore given the recent …

Corridor Study-Route 32 West Street And Palmer Road, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The purpose of this report was to help analyze the current and future uses along Route 32, which is located in Ware, Massachusetts, and the impact of those uses in terms of fiscal and infrastructure impacts to the town.