Planning Board to Hold “Sustainable Northampton and Big Picture Meeting” on March 6

Northampton’s Planning Board will hold a meeting/working session to discuss how to implement the Sustainable Northampton Plan. The meeting will take place on March 6, 6-8pm in the City Hall Hearing Room, 210 Main Street, 2nd Floor (enter via the rear door). The agenda includes:


  1. Review of Sustainable Northampton Implementation Process

  2. Review of Sustainable Northampton Land Use Plan

  3. Review and mark up Sustainable Northampton plan for implementation
We urge concerned citizens to attend. This meeting is one of a series that will determine which parts of the Sustainable Plan will become reality. The density, quality of life and character of neighborhoods for the next 20+ years are on the line.


See also:

Northampton: Dr. Rutherford Platt to Speak on The Humane Metropolis, March 9
As cities become the dominant living environment for humans, there is a growing concern about how to make such places more habitable, more healthy and safe, more ecological and more equitable–in short more humane. –Rutherford H. Platt

Vancouver Sun: “Call it EcoDensity or EcoCity –either way it’s a hard sell”
…A group called Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver — which itself has said it is in favour of densification, but only if properly planned — has signed up almost 30 community organizations in every neighbourhood in the city to oppose “the city’s plan to densify neighbourhoods without plans to ensure adequate safeguards or amenities.”

Planning Board Adopts Sustainable Northampton Plan
…the example buildings at the two highest densities are troubling. They are neither handsome nor in keeping with the historic character of Northampton.

Our Column in Today’s Gazette: The Hidden Risks of ‘Smart Growth’

The New Draft Sustainable Northampton Plan: Balancing Compact Growth Against Taxes, Urban Greenspace, Homeowner Preferences