Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

South Hadley Falls: Report On The Public Process, Elizabeth Brabec, Mark Hamin

Elizabeth Brabec

The goals of this design and visioning process were:

• to identify a common vision for the future of South Hadley Falls;

• to identify opportunities for future growth, change and development that are appropriate to the vision; and

• to consider creative visions to identify alternative outcomes.

Spread over a period of months from September 2011 through February 2012, the process was composed of four activities:

1. an initial information gathering phase of documentary research into the history, background and demographics of the community;

2. a visit to and discussions with residents;

3. a community design charrette to discuss …

Using Locative Media In Heritage Landscapes: A Review Of Current Practice, Elizabeth Brabec, Gordon Mclennan

Elizabeth Brabec

Locative media projects are beginning to be recognized in various arts and humanities disciplines as a portal through which interpretive information can be connected to location. Projects can be accessed from two different perspectives: in front of a computer screen or on the ground with the aid of a GPS enabled smart phone. In either format, content in the form of narrative, video, images, historic documents, etc., can be connected with a specific GPS point location on a map or on a real site. However, while locative media holds the potential to create a visitor experience without negatively impacting the …

The Use Of Spatial And Mixed Methods In Analyzing Cultural Landscapes, Elizabeth Brabec, Chingwen Cheng, Kristina Molnarova

Elizabeth Brabec

The cultural landscape is a complex phenomenon resulting from both natural-geographical and social-cultural processes. Defining the normative patterns produced by each culture and/or historical period is essential to understanding the patterns and features of the anthropogenic landscape and the inherent meaning. Currently, an understanding of both historical and contemporary patterns is developed from the qualitative analysis of a single or small number of cases. Results obtained from a single or small number of cases are inherently limited in their ability to clearly identify the pattern in a complex system, particularly when a chosen case may present an anomaly rather than …

Visual Preferences For Wind Turbines: Location, Numbers And Respondent Characteristics, Kristina Molnarova, Petr Sklenicka, Jiri Stiborek, Kamila Svobodova, Miroslav Salek, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

There is a dichotomy in the view of wind farms among members of the public: on one hand, there is a desire for renewable energy sources, and on the other hand, there is a major concern about the visual impact of wind turbines used for power production. This concern for visual impact is a major factor in the reaction of the public to the development of new wind farms. Our study aims to objectify this influence and to establish the factors that determine how people evaluate these structures. We tested the visual quality of landscapes in which these structures are …

Local Actions, National Frameworks: A Dual-Scale Comparison Of Climate Adaptation Planning On Two Continents, Elisabeth M. Hamin, Nicole Gurran

Elisabeth M. Hamin

This study explores emerging approaches to local climate change adaptation planning in the United States and Australia, and seeks to explain why some local authorities have begun to take action despite weak national and state level directives. We compare strategic documents from 13 local authorities across the two nations, representing the “first generation” of adaptation plans. Our focus is on potential explanations for early engagement in adaptation planning – size, location and risk level of the municipality, the existence of national or state mandates and access to supra local resources or support. We also explore the nature and type of …

Identifying Cultural Attitudes And Values In Community Landscapes, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

Understanding culture and its attitudes and values towards space, place and nature is a critical aspect in determining appropriate approaches to a wide variety of planning actions. Actions such as gaining support for protected areas, designing new developments, and integrating tourism facilities in existing communities all depend on an understanding of cultural norms and values for their success. But understanding the relationship between cultural attitudes and culturally defined space can be difficult, falling prey to the observer’s own cultural norms and biases. This project uses a method based on individual interviews and expert observation of physical traces, to develop an …

Local Surface Water Policy Under Conditions Of Climate Change, Elizabeth Brabec, Elisabeth Hamin, Chingwen Cheng

Elizabeth Brabec

Climate change means two things for local stormwater managers – that storm events will become more severe, and rainfall will, in many instances, become more erratic, causing enhanced periods of drought and flood. Two approaches are needed to deal with the eventualities: mitigation and adaptation.

While urbanization increases stormwater runoff and decreases the lag time of stormwater discharge, there is also a resulting lack of infiltration and reduction in evapotranspiration (Brunke and Gonser 1997). Stormwater detention, retention and infiltration have attempted to compensate, resulting in the concentrated point location infiltration of stormwater, which replenishes groundwater and baseflow. Equally important to …

The Office/Industrial Land Dilemma: A Study Of The Blackstone River Corridor In Massachusetts, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval

John R. Mullin

Local planners have often neglected their industrial resources and are therefore jeopardizing their economic base. There is clearly a mismatch between land zoned for industry and that which is suitable for development. Older areas are constrained by issues of compatibility, access, and environmental and flood plain issues. Greenfield sites are constrained by physical site characteristics, such as wetlands and slope, transportation networks, development pressures from other land uses and public perceptions and concerns surrounding industrial uses. Through this case study, this article analyzes the key factors that are influencing industrial land use decisions and provides recommendations that may be of …

Land Planning And Development Mitigation For Protecting Water Quality In The Great Lakes System: An Evaluation Of U.S. Approaches, Elizabeth Brabec, Peter Kumble

Elizabeth Brabec

A review of the land use/water quality interface of the Great Lakes system, and the monitoring programs in place. The paper reviews the weakness in the system and suggests opportunities for improvement.

Regional Land Pattern Assessment: Development Of A Resource Efficiency Measurement Method, Elizabeth Brabec, Geoffrey Mcd Lewis

Elizabeth Brabec

Debate on the sustainability of human settlements has recently been focused primarily on the urban portion of the land use pattern. However, urban areas rely on suburban, rural, and other less densely settled lands for their existence. In order to quantify the impacts of various land patterns on their supporting resources, these exurban lands must be included in any sustainability assessment. This need for a regional view has resulted in a measurement method that enables comparisons of relative sustainability between various regional land use patterns. Existing methods employed to assess urban sustainability are reviewed and compared with the regional characteristic …

Planning For Retail Activities In Small Downtowns: Towards A Pragmatic Approach, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval

John R. Mullin

Over the past twenty years there has been an enormous shift in terms of retail activity in our downtowns. The changes that have occurred have influenced where and how we shop, where we live and how we define the centers of our communities. As these have evolved, planners have constantly attempted to react and adapt. At times, they have been quite sucessful while, more often, they have been frustrated. What is most perplexing is that the shifts show no signs of abating. It is an exciting time to be undertaking downtown planning!

The University As A Contributor To The Local Economy: Key Thoughts For Local Planners, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval

John R. Mullin

As we move into the twenty-first century, economic development officials are increasingly attempting to find new ways to "jump start" their local economies. Traditionally, this has involved, among others, finding appropriate land, ensuring there is adequate infrastructure, helping to train the local workforce, bringing financial institutions on board and assisting local entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to the market place. More recently, it has been also oriented toward ensuring that human capital is being invested into the community such that the local schools, recreation facilities, cultural attractions and public safety systems are all first rate. What has been too frequently …

Measuring The Effectiveness Of Downtown Revitalization Strategies, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval

John R. Mullin

Downtowns, the traditional business centers of our communities, have survived many changes throughout the last century. Once thriving retail and civic centers, they were adversely affected by changes in mobility, retail patterns and shopping habits. Since the 1960's downtowns have seen serious competition from suburban shopping centers, malls, strip commercial areas, major discount centers and on-line and catalogue sales. Despite these changes, downtowns still play a central role in our cities today. They are the centers of our urbanized areas and still reflect the economic core and image of our cities. A healthy downtown is often synonymous with a healthy …

Defining The Pattern Of The Sustainable Urban Region - Development Of Regional Measurement Methods, Elizabeth Brabec, Geoffrey Mcd. Lewis

Elizabeth Brabec

To date, the debate on the sustainability of human settlements has focused on the urban portion of the land use pattern. Since urban areas rely on suburban, rural, and other less densely settled areas for their existence, these areas must be included in any sustainability assessment. This need for a regional view has resulted in a typology of regional form, which allows comparisons of relative sustainability between various regional land use patterns. Based on resource efficiency, this regional analysis includes measurements related to water, agricultural land, habitat, energy use, and transportation and identifies primary indicators for each category. Existing methods …

Impervious Surfaces And Water Quality: A Review Of Current Literature And Its Implications For Watershed Planning, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

Impervious surfaces have for many years been recognized as an indicator of the intensity of the urban environment and, with the advent of urban sprawl, they have become a key issue in habitat health. Although a considerable amount of research has been done to define impervious thresholds for water quality degradation, there are a number of flaws in the assumptions and methodologies used. Given refinement of the methodology, accurate and usable parameters for preventative watershed planning can be developed, which include impervious surface thresholds and a balance between pervious and impervious surfaces within a watershed.

Agricultural Land Fragmentation: The Spatial Effects Of Three Land Protection Strategies In The Eastern United States, Elizabeth Brabec, Chip Smith

Elizabeth Brabec

Fragmentation of agricultural land by urban sprawl affects both the agricultural production capacity of the land and its rural scenic quality. In order to assess the resulting fragmentation of the three most common types of agricultural land conservation tools in the United States, this study analyzes the spatial form of three land protection strategies: a purchase of development rights (PDR) program, a clustering program and a transfer of development rights program. By assessing a series of measures of success such as total acreage protected, size of parcels, contiguity and farming status, the study compares the effectiveness of programs that have …

Benchmarking: Measurable Indicators Of Economic Success, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval, Edward Murray

John R. Mullin

All our communities are striving for economic success. Political platforms are built on promises of economic prosperity. However, we rarely thoroughly measure this success. Across the country people are increasingly interested in ensuring that government expenditures are well spent. We can note this interest at all levels of government ranging from local to national scales. As well, accountability, in all of its manifestations, is a critical element of the "quality movement" that is becoming acculturated in both the private and public sectors. This article focuses on how local economic development officials can measure and evaluate their professional activities in a …

The Changing Character Of Economic Development, John R. Mullin

John R. Mullin

This article lays out several key trends concerning industrial development that I have noted over the past ten years in my consulting practice and academic research. They are not exhaustive nor will they be reflected in all parts of the country. They do, however, point out that we need to continually adapt to the market place; we need to become more pro-active in controlling how and where we stimulate development; we need to insure that we provide the opportunity for industry to succeed; and, finally, we must be reflective of world events and the speed of change.

Defining The Pattern Of The Sustainable Urban Region, Elizabeth Brabec, Geoffrey Mcd. Lewis

Elizabeth Brabec

No abstract provided.

Meridian Hill Park: The Making Of An American Neoclassical Landscape, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

The neoclassical design was the dominant design movement in landscape architecture at the turn of the last century, dictating the form and design of public parks for most of the first half of the twentieth century. Meridian Hill Park, located just north of the White ouse in Washington, DC, is considered the most ambitious neoclassical park ever conceived in the United States. The paper provides an overview of the design development of the park, illustrating how classical design precedents were used to create a contemporary neo-classical park.

Can We Protect Agricultural Land And The Scenic Rural Landscape? The Spatial Effects Of Three Land Protection Strategies In The Eastern United States, Elizabeth Brabec, Chip Smith

Elizabeth Brabec

In order to assess the efficacy of the three most common types of agricultural land conservation in the United States, this study analyzes the spatial and visual quality of a purchase of development rights program and two regulatory programs — cluster and the transfer of development rights. The study compares the effectiveness of programs that have been in place for periods of 6 to 18 years, surveying three different communities in the urban fringe: 1. the transfer of development rights program in Montgomery County, Maryland, in effect since 1981, 2. Riverhead, New York’s farmland development rights acquisition program, administered by …

Fragmentation, Impervious Surfaces And Water Quality: Quantifying The Effects Of Density And Spatial Arrangement, Elizabeth Brabec, Paul Richards, Stacey Schulte

Elizabeth Brabec

Impervious surfaces have for many years been recognized as an indicator of the intensity of the urban environment and, with the advent of urban sprawl, they have become a key issue in habitat health. In addition to the direct impacts to water quality, impervious surfaces fragment open space and habitat and are therefore a primary land use indicator of both water quality and ecological degradation. This paper develops an understanding of the land use planning implications of the interaction of impervious surfaces, water quality and the spatial form those surfaces take in a watershed. In order to clarify these relationships, …

The Potential For Planning An Industrial Cluster In Barre, Vermont: A Case Of 'Hard-Rock' Resistance In The Granite Industry, John R. Mullin, Zenia Kotval

John R. Mullin

Throughout the world, there has been considerable interest among economic planners concerning the creation of industrial clusters. Efforts to stimulate, nurture and reinforce such clusters can be found in virtually all of the European nations, as well as in Japan, Korea, China and others. These efforts range from reinforcing the strengths of promising areas to stimulating the creation of totally new technologies. The identification of such clustering opportunities has become a critical element of national, state, regional and local planning activities. While there are many researchers who have focused on this topic, the Harvard Business School's Michael Porter has,arguably, been …

Assessing The Future Of The New England Mill Town: What Are The Key Factors That Lead To Successful Revitalization?, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval

John R. Mullin

Over the past twenty years, we have been involved in economic revitalization projects in more than 50 mill towns across the state of Massachusetts. We begin these projects with a quiet visit to each community. Moving off a state or interstate road, we meander down through a highly dense village of multiunit tenements. Built close to the road, they are always a decided mix of well-kept and decaying structures. They are rarely one or the other entirely. It is as if the residents and owners are undecided about reinvestment or commitment to the community.

Brief On The Bicycle-Pedestrian Pathway Dedication By The Rails-To-Trails Conservancy, The League Of American Bicyclists, The Bicycle Federation Of Oregon, National Wildlife Federation, And The American Society Of Landscape Architects As Amici Curiae In Support Of Respondent. Florence Dolan V. City Of Tigard, In The Supreme Court Of The United States, Andrea Ferster, Elizabeth A. Brabec, Glenn P. Sugamelli, Daniel L. Rabinowitz

Elizabeth Brabec

No abstract provided.

The Greenfield Versus Brownfield Debate: A Balanced Approach To Industrial Planning, John R. Mullin, Zenia Kotval, Maureen Moriarty

John R. Mullin

Across the United States, mill towns and industrial communities, the "brownfields", have been experiencing rapid disinvestment as manufacturing and service firms increasingly move to suburban industrial parks, the "greenfields". This locational trend has been intensified over the years by our policies and regulations for industrial development. Is this shifting balance a desired result of our policies? The authors believe this trend has had negative effects on both the center cities left behind, as well as on the communities which are being developed. Analysis of the "Greenfield-Brownfield" debate can assist economic development planners in promoting balanced industrial growth. This article analyzes …

When The Mall Comes To A Small Town: How To Shape Development With Carrots And Sticks, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval

John R. Mullin

Across the United States there is a continuous expansion of population away from our traditional urban center cities. As people have occupied housing in these former open spaces, industrial parks and commercial centers have soon followed. While local planning boards have been able, in most cases, to handle residential and industrial growth, they are rarely able to handle extensive retail growth. Indeed, when a mall developer - complete with a multitalented staff and reams of plans - comes before a small town planning board, there is inevitable shock and a great deal of fear. In our experience, few small towns …

The Mall Comes To Town: Planning For Its Development, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval, Edward Murray

John R. Mullin

This article analyzes the impacts of malls on the character and economic base of a community. Based on both applied planning and academic research, it is clear that malls stimulate major changes in the community fabric. It is also apparent that community leaders who have a clear perception that their cities and towns have the potential to attract malls, and prepare for them, will be able to gain far more from their development than those that simply wait and see. The theme of this article, in short, is that a community either plans for a mall or it is planned …

Mature Industrial Communities: The Realities Of Reindustrialization, John R. Mullin, Jeanne H. Armstrong

John R. Mullin

This article analyzes the reindustrialization problems facing mature-industry communities in Massachusetts. The findings are based upon our planning consulting work and research projects involving forty cities and towns. The range of these communities includes those which have recovered, are on their way to recovery, and are stable; those which are declining; and those whose status is indeterminate. A variety of factors are reviewed, including unionization; work-force characteristics; the relationship between small and large plants; the characteristics of local companies; location; financing; the availability of land; and the role of local planning. Finally, we present recommendations concerning local action and possible …

From Mill Town To Mill Town: The Transition Of A New England Town From A Textile To A High-Technology Economy, John Mullin, Jeanne Armstrong, Jean Kavanagh

John R. Mullin

This article describes and analyzes the economic transformation of Maynard, Massachusetts. Located twenty-six miles west of Boston, Maynard was the home of the world's largest woolen mill. In 1950 the mill closed and 1,200 jobs were lost. During the next ten years, the town gradually recovered as the mill became the home of several innovative companies. Ultimately, the mill became the headquarters for the world's largest manufacturer of minicomputers. The circle is now complete: the mill is full and houses a company that claims a "world's largest" designation. The article analyses the rise and fall of the American Woolen Company; …