[Revised August 7, 2007]Northampton’s Planning Board and City Council Industry Committee endorsed the “Grow Smart Northampton” (PDF) plan in 2003. This plan, a precursor to recent Sustainable Northamption planning, does support infill. Specifically, the plan suggests, “Increase by 10 percent the density of housing in and within walking distance of downtown.” (p.13)At the same time, […]
Infill
Irony of Infill: You Have to Drive to Enjoy Nature
A key assumption built into infill is that walking access to amenities associated with civilization takes priority over walking access to nature. If developers are permitted to aggressively pave over green spaces downtown, more residents will be compelled to drive if they want to enjoy parks and woods. Most likely their overall time spent in ‘unbuilt’ environments […]