Law Commons^™

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

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 …

Massachusetts Agricultural Mediation Program, Courtney Breese, Massachusetts Office Of Public Collaboration, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Massachusetts Agricultural Mediation Program is administered by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at UMass Boston and certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide mediation services to the farm community in Massachusetts. Through the Program, MOPC provides mediation services to farmers, their creditors, and the USDA, as well as conducts training and outreach to build the capacity of producer organizations and state and local officials to address conflicts.

Ma Forest Futures Visioning Process, Loraine Della Porta, Massachusetts Office Of Public Collaboration, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) initiated the Forest Futures Visioning Process to develop a long-term strategy for managing the 308,000 acres of lands in the State and Urban Parks system. The Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration at UMass Boston designed and facilitated this year-long collaborative visioning process which culminated in a set of consensus recommendations for a 100 year vision for the forests of Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Community Mediation Centers Program, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Massachusetts Office Of Public Collaboration, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

As part of the public service mission of UMASS Boston, the MA Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) partnered with the Community Mediation Coalition of Massachusetts in compiling a research study and design for a Community Mediation Centers Grant Program to increase sustainability, scope and quality of Massachusetts community dispute resolution as a mechanism for increasing access to justice for all Massachusetts communities.

The Massachusetts Elder Economic Security Index (2011), Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

The Elder Economic Security Standard^TM Index measures the income that Massachusetts’ seniors need to maintain independence and meet their basic living expenses in the community. The Elder Index uses an income measure that reflects the actual expenses for basic needs of older adults, and includes cost estimates for housing, food, medical care, transportation, and household essentials. Elder Index values are calculated for each state, on a county-by-county basis, providing policy makers and individuals a benchmark for determining what income or governmental supports are needed in their communities.