“We would like to concentrate development closer in, we like the idea of walkability, bikeability, neighborhood center… The thing that happens to us, however, is that we buy that and then somebody builds some horrible thing…and then they say to you, “This is infill, you know. It’s good, it’s infill.” …You know if you walk […]
Infill
Update from Notre Dame; Critique of Northampton Sector Diagram
[11/13/08 update – Notre Dame Professor Philip Bess sent us this comment and authorized us to share it with you: We share your commitment to green space in Northampton, both usable and preserved; and are cognizant of the low-lying downtown areas prone to flooding. I just want to reassure you here that even if our […]
Ordinance to Simplify Zero Lot Line Developments to Come Before City Council on 11/6/08
[Update: The City Council agenda says this proposal is getting its first reading on November 6, but it’s actually at an earlier stage of the process. The proposal will likely be referred out to various committee meetings and hearings before coming back to the Council.] This November 6, Northampton’s City Council will get its first look at amending Ordinance […]
New Hazards Mitigation Plan Reflects Weakened Protection for Wetlands
Northampton’s Office of Planning and Development has made the new Proposed Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (PDF) available for public review. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on this plan on November 13, 7pm, in City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street. We compared the new Plan to the existing one, which the City Council signed […]
David Goldberg, “Of Sprawl Schools and Small Schools”
David Goldberg’s “Of Sprawl Schools and Small Schools” (PDF) appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of On Common Ground, published by the National Association of Realtors. As the fate of Bridge Street School is weighed, these excerpts merit consideration: As recently as 1969 roughly half of all students walked or biked to school. In 2001 […]
School Committee Meeting Underscores Imminent Peril Facing Bridge Street School
The full board of the Northampton School Committee met on October 16. A Bridge Street School parent of two attended and emailed us with their concerns: I would like to bring to your attention that although the school committee meeting was not televised last night, some important information that the public might want to know […]
Zoning Revisions Committee on City Council Agenda for 10/16/08
The proposed Zoning Revisions Committee is on the 10/16/08 agenda of Northampton’s City Council. The meeting will take place at 7:15pm in City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street. The public is encouraged to attend. The City Council will decide whether to endorse the creation of the Zoning Revisions Committee, which is to recommend zoning changes […]
Valley Advocate Critiques Sustainable Northampton Plan
This week’s Valley Advocate critiques the Sustainable Northampton Plan and contrasts it with the picture-filled work from the recent Notre Dame Northampton Urban Design Charrette. Here are a few excerpts: Sustainability: Vision or Buzzword in Northampton?Why Notre Dame’s Urban Design Team’s work matters more than Northampton’s Sustainability Plan In many ways, what Professor Bess and […]
The Notre Dame Northampton Charrette – Website Launches
The Notre Dame School of Architecture has launched a website to present their ideas about Northampton and engage with citizens. Professor Philip Bess and six graduate architecture and urban design students–Kalinda Brown, Dan Degreve, Josh Eckert, Scott Ford, Aaron Helfand, and Crystal Olin–initiated a semester’s worth of study of Northampton with Design Northampton Week. Visit […]
Rutherford Platt, “The Humane Micropolis” – Full Text
Dr. Rutherford Platt has kindly given us permission to reprint the full text of his September 6 guest column in the Gazette. Dr. Platt cautions about the hazards of overplanning a city: The ‘humane micropolis’ Northampton has evolved on its own terms “Design Northampton Week,” which begins this Sunday evening at the Senior Center on […]