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Articles 1 - 30 of 77
Full-Text Articles in Urban Studies and Planning
Georeferencing The Macconnell Aerial Photo Collection, Alex Heilmann, Matthew Martin, Camille Barchers, Forrest J. Bowlick, Rebecca M. Seifried
Georeferencing The Macconnell Aerial Photo Collection, Alex Heilmann, Matthew Martin, Camille Barchers, Forrest J. Bowlick, Rebecca M. Seifried
Massachusetts GIS Day
In the 1950s, Professor William P. MacConnell from the University of Massachusetts Forestry Department began working with his students to map the land cover in Massachusetts via the state’s earliest aerial photography program. These individual photographs are now part of the Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries, and although they have been digitized and made available online, they have not yet been georeferenced.
In Spring 2021, our team (Alex and Matthew) began manually georeferencing the photos in ArcMap 10.8 software onto USGS 2019 color orthoimagery of Massachusetts available from MassGIS. Ideal ground control points …
Somewhere That’S Green: Recreational Space Use And Civic Engagement In Massachusetts’ Urban Areas, Matthew Donohue
Somewhere That’S Green: Recreational Space Use And Civic Engagement In Massachusetts’ Urban Areas, Matthew Donohue
Honors Program Theses and Projects
Public green spaces, their use, and their accessibility are all crucial indicators of the state of life in urban areas. These spaces can signify the socioeconomic wellbeing of neighborhoods and cities, and often reflect trends accordingly; in one such case, Rehling et al. found in a study in German urban areas that those living at lower socioeconomic levels are often farther from green spaces than those at higher ones.[1] Perhaps unsurprisingly, access to these spaces is also often an indicator of personal physical health. Rundle et al. found that adults in New York City who lived closer to large …
Ecology And Vegetation In A Passively Managed Urban Park In Worcester, Ma, Raphaella Mascia
Ecology And Vegetation In A Passively Managed Urban Park In Worcester, Ma, Raphaella Mascia
College Honors Program
As urbanization continues to expand globally, urban parks are becoming critical habitats for human and non-human species alike. Understanding the various contexts and conditions of local parks prompts improved management and conservation efforts for such expanding urban habitats. Therefore, I assess the ecology and vegetation of a local park, Cookson Field, located in Worcester, MA, US, through a comprehensive series of vegetation surveys and examine its urban context through an examination of land-use history. I find that Cookson Field is primarily an oak (Quercus sp.) woodland with an ericaceous understory consisting mainly of blueberry (Vaccinium sp.) …
Refugee Housing In Worcester: A Neighborhood Case Study Of Bell Hill, Tyler Seth Maren
Refugee Housing In Worcester: A Neighborhood Case Study Of Bell Hill, Tyler Seth Maren
International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)
This paper examines refugee resettlement practices at the neighborhood level, asking what neighborhood characteristics are conducive to achieving positive integration and housing stability outcomes. Using data from a quantitative study of refugee resettlement case files from Ascentria Care Alliance as a foundation, this research takes the form of an analysis of the Bell Hill neighborhood in Worcester, MA, a major resettlement destination. Using Ascentria data, secondary data sources such as US Census data and the Worcester Assessor’s Database, and site visits, this paper constructs a profile of Bell Hill along four major dimensions: community characteristics, housing, social infrastructure, and physical …
Unbundling Property In Boston’S Urban Food Commons, Oona Morrow, Deborah Martin
Unbundling Property In Boston’S Urban Food Commons, Oona Morrow, Deborah Martin
Geography
Households and community organizations are involved in the creation, use, care, and management of urban spaces, including through food practices such as planting, foraging, harvesting, weeding and pruning at the ambiguous edges of public and private property. Drawing on case studies in Boston, Massachusetts, we examine how commons are articulated through these practices, particularly in relation to multiple dimensions of property rights. Specifically, we ask how food practices can open urban spaces to negotiations around access, responsibility, care, and ownership, especially when (property) ownership is not an end-goal, but a circumstance shaping other practices. Using interviews and participant observation of …
Foreclosures For Sale: Revisiting Stories Of Worcester's Mortgage Crisis, A Radio Documentary, Hallie Blashfield, Beatrice Misher
Foreclosures For Sale: Revisiting Stories Of Worcester's Mortgage Crisis, A Radio Documentary, Hallie Blashfield, Beatrice Misher
International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)
This radio documentary uses the personal stories of homeowners fighting to keep their homes in Worcester Massachusetts to explore the state of Foreclosure in Worcester ten years after the Great Recession. It follows the Worcester Anti-Foreclosure Team (WAFT) and its members in their fight against illegal foreclosures and their battles in Worcester Housing Court. Grounded in personal narratives, the documentary highlights systemic issues with the banking and legal system.
Urban Synagogues-Changing Relationship With Tikkun Olam, Rena Schuman Stoler
Urban Synagogues-Changing Relationship With Tikkun Olam, Rena Schuman Stoler
International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)
Synagogues in their urban context are searching for ways to responsibly act on the value of tikkun olam. Tikkun olam has adapted in the American context but in its essence is Jewish value of repairing the world. Five rabbis and one organizer were interviewed to shed light on the intricate dynamic between Jewish synagogues and social justice work in their city. The five synagogues were challenged by the Jewish call to social justice, and challenges that influenced their vision for a better world. Therefore, rabbis need to strike a balance between appeasing internal issues and being a present force in …
Growing The Green Energy Economy: Workforce Development And Cluster Growth In The Pioneer Valley Of Massachusetts, Nicholas B. Altonaga
Growing The Green Energy Economy: Workforce Development And Cluster Growth In The Pioneer Valley Of Massachusetts, Nicholas B. Altonaga
International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)
Workforce development programs have a positive effect on the formation of a cluster. Incorporating these programs into cluster theory is essential to creating more robust and dynamic local growth in the emerging green energy sector. Studying programs in the green energy sector in the Pioneer Valley has shown an increase in collaboration, local and regional connectivity, and industry communication. These aspects reinforce the comparative advantage of organizations within the cluster, while downplaying their challenges . Applying this focus on workforce development is important for cementing the green energy cluster into an enduring force in the domestic economy in the 21 …
Shelter Poverty In Boston: Problem And Program, Michael E. Stone
Shelter Poverty In Boston: Problem And Program, Michael E. Stone
Michael E. Stone
This paper argues, first, that most housing problems—in Boston and throughout the nation—are ultimately the result of the squeeze between inadequate incomes, on the one hand, and the cost of profitably providing housing on the other. It is also argued that housing cost and incomes together are the most decisive determinants of the overall quality of life of families and communities. Third, it is contended that the long history of inadequate attempts to cope with the affordabiiity problem have not only failed to solve the problem, but have indeed contributed significantly to the broader and serious problems of the overall …
Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli
Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli
Jonathan G. Cooper
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 …
People And Place: Understanding The Processes, Outcomes And Impacts Of Interventions Of The Fairmount Corridor Initiative, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
People And Place: Understanding The Processes, Outcomes And Impacts Of Interventions Of The Fairmount Corridor Initiative, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Office of Community Partnerships Posters
Through a 5 year grant, the Center for Social Policy (CSP) serves as a strategic learning and evaluation partner to The Boston Foundation (TBF). TBF’s investment and people and place-based initiatives seek to make sustainable, positive change through community and economic development in neighborhoods along the Fairmount-Indigo transit line in Boston. From 2010-2012, the Center team worked closely with Mattapan United and Millennium 10 (in Codman Square/Four Corners) to identify community priorities for neighborhood change. From 2013-2015, the Center team is evaluating these neighborhood change efforts, as well as other initiatives aimed at increasing economic well-being for neighborhood residents. The …
Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli
Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli
Sally Miller
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 …
Preparing For The Rising Tide, Ellen Douglas, Paul Kirshen, Vivian Li, Chris Watson, Julie Wormser
Preparing For The Rising Tide, Ellen Douglas, Paul Kirshen, Vivian Li, Chris Watson, Julie Wormser
Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences Faculty Publication Series
On October 29, 2012, one of the largest Atlantic basin storms in recorded history hit the East Coast. Although Superstorm Sandy centered around New Jersey and New York when it made landfall, the massive storm system spanned 1,000 miles north to south, over three times the size of a typical hurricane.
Luckily for Boston, Sandy’s storm surge hit the city near low tide, causing relatively minor coastal flooding. Had the storm hit 5½ hours earlier, 6.6 percent of the city could have been flooded, with floodwaters reaching City Hall.
Events such as Superstorm Sandy highlight the growing relevance of climate …
Aging In Hingham: A Community Affair, Jan Mutchler, Caitlin Coyle, Hayley Gravette
Aging In Hingham: A Community Affair, Jan Mutchler, Caitlin Coyle, Hayley Gravette
Gerontology Institute Publications
The purpose of this needs assessment is to investigate the needs, interests, and opinions of mature residents of Hingham, Massachusetts, relating to their aging experiences and needs for age-related services. This assessment was undertaken by the Gerontology Institute of the McCormack Graduate School at UMass Boston on behalf of the Town of Hingham Department of Elder Services (hereinafter referred to as the Department of Elder Services). The focus of this report is on Hingham residents aged 60+ (referred to here as “Seniors”) and residents aged 45-59 (referred to here as “Boomers”). Information about these two age groups was obtained both …
Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli
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 …
Prelude To A Master Plan: Ware, Massachusetts, Belen Alfaro, Bruno Carneiro, Margaret Engesser, Kathryn E. Fox, Evadne R. Friedman, Timothy Inacio, Anita Lockesmith, Christina Mills, Stephanie Molden, Meagen Mulherin, Russell Pandres, Vinicius Pereira, Brian Reid, Pedro Soto, Jennifer Stromsten
Prelude To A Master Plan: Ware, Massachusetts, Belen Alfaro, Bruno Carneiro, Margaret Engesser, Kathryn E. Fox, Evadne R. Friedman, Timothy Inacio, Anita Lockesmith, Christina Mills, Stephanie Molden, Meagen Mulherin, Russell Pandres, Vinicius Pereira, Brian Reid, Pedro Soto, Jennifer Stromsten
Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity
Prelude to a Master Plan offers ideas, recommendations, and a toolkit to help the town chart its own path towards that future. While the teams and individual students worked to ‘drill down’ into specific topic areas, the Studio defined three basic areas in order to think about how the various assets, challenges and ideas undermine or reinforce one another. The report is loosely organized in those terms: addressing the outlying rural areas and issues specific to these places, considering one of the key growth areas that has extended from town and the conflicts that arise from the many uses occurring …
Proposed Reuse And Redevelopment Of The Salem Harbor Power Station, Salem, Massachusetts, Peter Matchak
Proposed Reuse And Redevelopment Of The Salem Harbor Power Station, Salem, Massachusetts, Peter Matchak
Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects
This master's project analyses the potential reuse of the Salem Harbor Power Station. The station is slated to close June 2014. The closure is an opportunity for Salem, Massachusetts, to redevelop this site and to envision its future socio-economic possibilities. In this project, the parameters of potential development are reviewed, potential reuses are examined, and the best redevelopment strategies are presented.
This project uses five basic steps. The first was a literature review that focuses on planning concepts for the waterfront industrial landscape and its redevelopment. The second is a site analysis of the power plant that discusses the characteristics …
Landscape Urbanism For The Highway City Of Springfield North End, Piyawut Inthasorn
Landscape Urbanism For The Highway City Of Springfield North End, Piyawut Inthasorn
Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Honors Projects
The expansions of the transportation and roadway have made many cities in the United States having the interstates or highways cut through the city center. Springfield’s North End is one of them. The Interstate highway I-91 from Chicopee to South Spring has separated three North End neighborhoods into two sides; Liberty Height, Memorial Square, and Brightwood. The separation has not only changed community relation but also created many dramatic problems and consequences to the neighborhoods such as having disconnected access to the Connecticut River or the Van Horn Park, creating some pollution in water, air, sound, and other health issues. …
The Impacts Of Casino Development On Demographic And Land Use Changes Over Time: Planning For Palmer Massachusetts, Erin E. Wilson
The Impacts Of Casino Development On Demographic And Land Use Changes Over Time: Planning For Palmer Massachusetts, Erin E. Wilson
Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects
This project uses spatial analysis tools to examine the impact of casino development on the demographic make-up of local communities. This was conducted in order to inform future casino communities as to how their communities may be impacted by casino development. First, this project uses Geographic Information System (GIS) based methods of descriptive spatial analysis to analyze demographic changes over time to see what, if any, economic and demographic impacts may likely occur around a casino. Second, this project also interviews key local officials in casino communities to gain on the ground incite regarding the impacts of casinos. While the …
Summary Report: Population Estimates In Massachusetts: A Report To The Secretary Of The Commonwealth, Henry C. Renski, Susan Strate, Ludgarda Simmonds
Summary Report: Population Estimates In Massachusetts: A Report To The Secretary Of The Commonwealth, Henry C. Renski, Susan Strate, Ludgarda Simmonds
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
This report summarizes the 2009 estimates results from the UMass Donahue Institute’s Population
Estimates Program (UMDI-PEP). These population estimates are developed in tandem with the
Donahue Institute’s data collection efforts, namely our group quarters and housing unit surveys.
There are several reasons why it is necessary for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to develop its own population estimates. First, county and sub-county population estimates are a key resource for state and local governments, non-profits, and the private sector which use these estimates to prepare reports, grant applications, business plans, and state and federal compliance documents. At present, public agencies in Massachusetts …
Partnerships And The Fiscal Implications Of Planning And Development: A Case Study Of Maynard, Massachusetts, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval, Zeenat Karamchandani
Partnerships And The Fiscal Implications Of Planning And Development: A Case Study Of Maynard, Massachusetts, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval, Zeenat Karamchandani
John R. Mullin
Redevelopment of urban sites is an ongoing concern for many communities in the industrial Northeast United States. While many mill sites still languish, examples of successful revitalization can be found. Most of these efforts require more than market conditions to make them viable. Partnerships between developers and the community and state are seen to be crucial. These public-private partnerships come in many forms, not always monetary. The detail and effectiveness of these partnerships often depend on the experience and expertise of developers and community professionals. Given that many of these communities have limited staff, agreements are often made quickly with …
Making The Case For Transit-Oriented Development In Downtown Holyoke, Massachusetts, John Hersey
Making The Case For Transit-Oriented Development In Downtown Holyoke, Massachusetts, John Hersey
Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects
This report serves to inform the City of Holyoke about compelling features in its downtown district as they would pertain to the creation and management of a transit-oriented development district around the recently created Intermodal Transportation Center, a hub for bus service between Holyoke and other communities in the Pioneer Valley. These features were developed through literature and interview surveys and are described in a SWOT analysis, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as existing and future advantages and disadvantages related to transit-oriented development.
Some of the more compelling strengths include a municipal reputation for attracting planning grants for large-scale …
Slides: New England Forestry Foundation: Private Forests For The Public Good Since 1944, Frank Reed
Slides: New England Forestry Foundation: Private Forests For The Public Good Since 1944, Frank Reed
Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)
Presenter: Frank Reed, New England Forestry Foundation
9 slides
Community Forests: A Perspective, Robert Mccullough
Community Forests: A Perspective, Robert Mccullough
Community-Owned Forests: Possibilities, Experiences, and Lessons Learned (June 16-19)
22 pages.
"Robert McCullough teaches in the University of Vermont Graduate Program in Historic Preservation. He wrote The Landscape of Community: Communal Forests in New England."
Gill, Massachusetts: The Mariamante Parcel, Center For Economic Development
Gill, Massachusetts: The Mariamante Parcel, Center For Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
In December of 2004, the small Massachusetts town of Gill took a tremendous step to influence its own future. A fifteen acre parcel of land in the south of town, near the intersection of two important town roads, had been put up for sale by its previous owners. The land had been under an agricultural preservation restriction, a program enabled by Massachusetts General Law Chapter 61 A. As part of this restriction, if the land were ever sold, the town would have right of first refusal.
The town's recent Community Development Plan has identified the parcel as a prime site …
Economic Development Plan Town Of Warren, Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development
Economic Development Plan Town Of Warren, Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
This section of the Comprehensive Plan identifies economic development strategies within the framework of various development opportunities available to Warren given its current economic and geographical standing within the region. These economic development strategies strive to meet the needs and desires of the residents of Warren, Massachusetts based on their input and an analysis of local and regional economic trends and conditions. These potential economic strategies, intended to promote future economic growth, are in alignment with the Town’s core values and community goals.
Warren currently has two village centers, an active mill complex, significant open space, rivers and wetlands, and …
Haverhill Street Corridor Study: Methuen, Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development
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 …
From Lane To Lee A Quarry's Potential, Center For Economic Development
From Lane To Lee A Quarry's Potential, Center For Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
In collaboration with a student team from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Community Development Corporation of Lee explored the potential reuse of an industrial parcel owned by Lane Construction Corporation in Lee, Massachusetts. The 243-acre property is currently in operation as a gravel and sand operation and asphalt processing plant in Lenox Dale, north of Lee center.
Identified as one of the largest industrial zoned parcels in New England, the Lane site has great economic potential in the future development of the town and the surrounding region. However, the site …
City Of Attleboro Economic Development Organizational Study, Center For Economic Development
City Of Attleboro Economic Development Organizational Study, Center For Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
The organizational structure of a municipal agency plays a critical role in its ability to fulfill its public mission. A well-organized agency is able to achieve its objectives in an effective and efficient manner. In addition, an agency with a clearly defined organizational structure is better prepared to adapt to the changing needs of its community.
Professionals in the field of economic development are especially aware of the value of effective organizational structures. The cyclical nature of local economies often forces economic development agencies to shift focus rapidly in order to address changing economic conditions. Adapting successfully to these changes …
A Search For The Most Exemplary Towns In Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development
A Search For The Most Exemplary Towns In Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development
Center for Economic Development Technical Reports
What are the most exemplary cities or towns in the state of Massachusetts? This is the question that this study explores. At the beginning of this semester, Regional Planning Studio 1 was given the task of researching and identifying the three to five municipalities in the state that exhibit the most exemplary planning practices.
To accomplish this task, our research team broke into groups, each addressing what it means for a community to be noted as exemplary. The groups looked at four major categories of communities, those with the fastest growing populations, those experiencing a decline in population, the wealthiest, …