If infill is to mean adding more impervious surface to the already built-up areas of Northampton, this will increase pressure on our man-made stormwater drainage system. The limits of this system were on display this week, as snow, sleet and nearly 3 inches of rain came to Pioneer Valley. Today’s Gazette reports: Water, water everywhere […]
Continue reading Snow and Slush Expose Limits of Storm Drains
“Floodplain forest—a woodland that is regularly inundated with water that moves into the lowlands bordering a river—is a disappearing ecological treasure,” writes Gayle Goddard-Taylor for Mass Audubon’s Sanctuary magazine (March 2006). While some may quibble that the North Street woods are not a forest and Millyard Brook is not a river but an intermittent stream, […]
Continue reading Massachusetts Audubon: The Value of Floodplain Forests
Terrain.org is an online journal devoted to smart growth that’s integrated with the natural environment. It won a 1999 Media Award for Sustainable Development, and has an entire category devoted to UnSprawl. Randall Arendt’s article, “Cultivating Natural and Cultural Landscapes through Conservation Subdivision Design”, is a good example of increasing sensitivity among Smart Growth advocates for […]
Northampton’s Planning Board will meet on Thursday, February 7 and Thursday, March 6 to discuss and plan for the implementation of the Sustainable Northampton Comprehensive Plan. These meetings begin at 6pm and may last for two hours each. We urge concerned citizens to attend at City Hall, 210 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Room 10 (enter via the rear […]
Continue reading Northampton Planning Board to Meet on Implementing Sustainable Northampton Plan
In a January 16 guest column for South Coast Today, Ian Bowles, secretary of energy and environmental affairs for Massachusetts, argues that Smart Growth needs to provide for urban parks as well as habitat reserves and working landscapes (agricultural and forest lands). It’s not sufficient to presume that compact growth and the preservation of open […]
The Sustainable Northampton Plan (PDF), recently approved by the Planning Board, includes these goals (p.23): Conserve wetlands with programs to ensure no net loss of wetlands…Preserve existing forests, floodplains, wetlands, and agricultural soils of high ecological value…Recognize that the protection of environmental resources will improve the quality of life and the value of property in […]
Continue reading Greening Smart Growth: The Sustainable Sites Initiative
Daryl LaFleur’s Northampton Redoubt discusses how Kohl Construction’s proposed condo project off North Street has spurred a larger debate over what Smart Growth means and how to implement it… It’s great to read everyone’s posts on the Paradise City Forum listserv regarding the North Street Condominium proposal and Smart Growth……the Kohl development on North Street will […]
Continue reading Northampton Redoubt: Urban Planning, Public Policies, and Urban Ecology
Let’s further explore Dr. Rutherford Platt’s thinking about “ecological cities”. Dr. Platt is affiliated with the Department of Geosciences at UMass Amherst. He is no fan of sprawl, but does believe that ecological cities should incorporate greenspace and green infrastructure throughout their fabric. “Regreening the Metropolis: Pathways to More Ecological Cities”A 2004 Keynote Address by Dr. Rutherford […]
Continue reading Rutherford Platt, “Regreening the Metropolis: Pathways to More Ecological Cities”
The Ecological Cities Project is affiliated with the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. It was founded in 1999 by Dr. Rutherford H. Platt, a familiar figure in the Valley. The project website currently features “The Humane Metropolis”, an article by Neal Peirce. Peirce champions the cause of greenspace in urban environments: […]
Continue reading The Ecological Cities Project: Greenspace in “The Humane Metropolis”
Smart Growth advocates tell the public that their policies will reduce driving, lower infrastructure costs, protect the environment, and cure social isolation in the suburbs. The actual results have been less than satisfactory, yet Smart Growth continues, in part because city officials and private actors have found it’s a way to access state and federal funds. Randal […]
Continue reading Financial Incentives Distort Smart Growth Debates