Here are pictures taken yesterday from the bike path and roads surrounding the woods behind North Street. Kohl Construction proposes to build 26 condo units in and around these woods. As observed in Preserving and Enhancing Communities: A Guide for Citizens, Planners, and Policymakers, Protecting open space is often about protecting what makes a community special […]
Trees
Smart Growth with Balance: The American Planning Association
In its advocacy of Smart Growth, the American Planning Association supports the principles of citizen participation, preservation of neighborhood character, respect for urban greenspace, and fairness. The APA’s Policy Guide on Smart Growth, adopted in 2002, defines Smart Growth as follows: Smart growth means using comprehensive planning to guide, design, develop, revitalize and build communities for all […]
UMass Press: “Natural Land: Preserving and Funding Open Space”
The University of Massachusetts Press (Amherst) recently published Preserving and Enhancing Communities: A Guide for Citizens, Planners, and Policymakers, a timely addition to the Sustainable Northampton debate. The book generally supports Smart Growth concepts while it also underscores the value of urban open space. We focus on the latter in these excerpts from Chapter 10, “Natural Land: Preserving and Funding […]
New York Times: The Green Alleys of Chicago
Paved surfaces are notorious for creating stormwater runoff and pollution issues, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Chicago is having success with new kinds of paving materials, reports The New York Times (11/26/07): …with nearly 2,000 miles of small service streets bisecting blocks from the North Side to the South Side, Chicago is the […]
Natick Hailed as Example of How to Do Smart Growth Well
NSNA is not opposed to all compact growth strategies. What concerns us most is when “smart growth” is cited as an excuse to consume precious downtown greenspace. However, we support efforts to revitalize commercial sites and underused parking lots, such as can be found on King Street. In this vein, MetroWest reports on successful initiatives in […]
Metro Portland: “Nature in Neighborhoods”
Metropolitan Portland has been grappling with issues of Smart Growth for years. Its Nature in Neighborhoods program recognizes that greenspace is an important amenity for residents: The Portland metropolitan region is set in an exceptional natural landscape. It is surrounded by hills and mountains and laced with rivers and streams. It is a region of national […]
Berkeley, California: Cautions on Infill
In what may be a preview of infill controversies in Northampton, many Berkeley residents are protesting plans to build a three-story rooming house with six units in the back yard of an existing single-family home in a residential neighborhood. The Berkeley Daily Planet tells the story: “LeConte Neighbors Protest Proposed Project”, 10/30/07“A three-story accessory building […]
Boston Urban Forest Coalition Aims to Plant 100,000 Trees
EarthWorks is a non-profit organization working to create a healthier and more sustainable environment in Greater Boston. Their August newsletter relates the following inspiring news. We note the critical importance of private citizens and organizations working together with government: Boston Urban Forest Coalition Aims to Plant 100,000 Canopy Trees…Throughout Boston, canopy trees help to shade […]
Gazette’s Hampshire Life: Development of Forests and Open Fields Impacts Birds
This week’s Hampshire Life discusses the impact of development on birds in “Birding: Not just an idle pastime”… This year, the U.S. Geological Survey’s annual Breeding Bird Survey and the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count both indicated a decline in bird numbers…According to a 2003 Mass Audubon report, development in the state ate up 40 […]
North Street Gets Support from South Street: A Letter from Virginia Schulman
We received this open letter today from a fellow resident, sharing our concerns about infill projects that consume downtown greenspace: Statement from Virginia Schulman, living at 358 South Street, Northampton, since 1983We had a lovely small wooded area on one corner of the intersection of South Street with New South and Old South streets. The owner […]