Today’s Gazette announces that a presentation of the new Northampton police station will take place at JFK Middle School on August 20. (A discussion of the station was originally scheduled for July 30 but that discussion was canceled.) New Northampton police station up for viewing The Police Station Building Committee and the team of experts […]
Neighborhood Character
CommonWealth Magazine: “Urban greenery can bring better health, more attractive neighborhoods, and even safer streets”
Urban greenery gets some love in the Summer 2008 issue of CommonWealth Magazine… Seeing the forest and the trees …Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and the Urban Forest Coalition announced last year that they intended to plant 100,000 new trees by 2020, increasing the city’s tree canopy to 35 percent [from 29 percent currently]… [A survey […]
Support Design Northampton Week, September 7-13
It is our pleasure to publish this announcement from the Northampton Design Forum… “Design Northampton Week,” the Notre Dame Urban Design Studio project, is rapidly approaching! It begins four weeks from today, on September 7, 2008. The Northampton Design Forum has been hard at work this summer organizing the event and raising the money needed […]
August 25: Best Practices Forum to Study Meadows Success
We are pleased to relay this press release from Northampton’s Office of Planning and Development. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 7, 2008 Northampton – It took two years and eight major public forums to create a Land Use Plan for the 4,000 acres, mostly flood plain, called the Meadows that borders the Connecticut River in Northampton. […]
Video: August 4 Rezoning Subcommittee
Northampton’s Rezoning Subcommittee held its fourth meeting at Forbes Library on August 4. The two members of the city council (Michael Bardsley, David Murphy) and two members of the planning board (George Kohout, Kenneth Jodrie) worked to nail down the optimal size and composition of the prospective Rezoning Committee. Planning director Wayne Feiden attended the […]
Video: July 28 Rezoning Subcommittee; Comments from Alex Ghiselin and Ward 3 Association
Northampton’s Rezoning Subcommittee held its third meeting at Forbes Library on July 28. Its goal is to determine the optimal size and composition of a city-wide Rezoning Committee and submit a proposal to the planning board and city council. The Rezoning Committee’s decisions could have far-ranging impacts in how it chooses to implement the Sustainable […]
Meeting Tonight: Proposed New Police Station and Parking Garage
Citizens are encouraged to attend tonight’s meeting of the Central Business Architecture Committee. A major new building for downtown Northampton, the police station, will be discussed. Here is the meeting notice: CENTRAL BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE COMMITTEERevised Meeting Notice(Item added) DATE: July 30, 2008TIME: 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.PLACE: City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street, Northampton AGENDA […]
New Blog: Northampton Blight
We are pleased to see a new blog join the local array of citizen journalism: Northampton Blight. Its mission: This blog is to publicize urban blight right here in Northampton — — The Paradise City! Every city faces the challenge of keeping things well maintained and looking good, but Northampton has been looking pretty darn […]
Letter to Gazette: “Government works best when it is closer to home”
Today’s Gazette publishes a letter by Adam Cohen, a member of NSNA: Government works best when it is closer to home To the editor: I would like to respond to Neal Peirce’s June 30 column, “Using the power of ‘metropolitics.’” [link] Mr. Peirce writes, “while the metros have our top talent, they’re often disorganized, divided […]
Springfield Works on Infill Housing Design Guidelines; Residential Design Presentation by Dietz & Company
Infill and urban design are hot topics in Springfield as they are in Northampton. The Springfield Office of Planning and Economic Development is currently working on an infill design manual. They expect to release it in the fall. The City of Springfield conducted a housing design forum on June 26 to gather public input. Noting […]