ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst

Recent Submissions

  • Publication
    Data submission for Hill et al. 2025
    (2025-08-01) Baskin, Tobias Isaac
  • Publication
    Oakland Gardens: A Housing Study
    (1970) Minges, Frederick
    The urgent demand for decent and adequate housing poses a critical social challenge, with minority communities threatening unrest if these needs remain unmet. While industrial mass production of housing has been viewed as a solution, this approach alone is insufficient. Housing must be planned with a focus on people, their diverse aspirations, and lifestyles, aiming for a varied and socially balanced community. This study centers on Oakland Gardens, a 49-acre middle-class neighborhood in Farmington, Connecticut, facing rapid regional growth pressures. The research examines population and household trends across the Capitol Region, and proposes a balanced housing plan integrating low, moderate, and middle-income units tailored to diverse family needs, including the elderly and those displaced by infrastructure projects. The study also addresses racial, economic, political, and environmental factors impacting community development and offers recommendations for implementing a comprehensive housing strategy to foster social cohesion and healthy community life.
  • Publication
    A Handbook for Physical and Visual Access Design Guidelines: Integrating Public Access with Private Development in Massachusetts Tidelands
    (1987) Sanders, Gretchen
    As Massachusetts’ coastline becomes increasingly privatized, the preservation of public access to the shore grows more urgent. The high cost of coastal properties compels communities to explore alternatives to outright ownership for maintaining access. One such alternative is regulation through the enforcement of existing public rights in the tidelands. The 1983 amendments to Massachusetts General Law Chapter 91 revise the tidelands licensing process to protect these rights. A key provision requires that all non-water-dependent projects constructed below the historic high water line serve a proper public purpose. This can be achieved by providing physical and visual public access to the water. Waterfront developments must include features such as esplanades, public rights-of-way connecting to these esplanades, and unobstructed sight lines to the water. Additionally, projects must offer water-related public benefits like boat slips or waterfront parks. To ensure compliance, tidelands licensing applicants are subject to a rigorous design review overseen by the Department of Environmental Quality Engineering. However, clear guidelines detailing the state’s public access requirements are lacking. This handbook addresses that gap by offering design guidelines for physical and visual public access through private waterfront developments, aiming to assist applicants during the licensing review process.
  • Publication
    A Case Study in Urban Neighborhood Revitalization: The Green Island Neighborhood
    (1986) Miloski, Anthony
    The Green Island neighborhood, located just south and east of Worcester, Massachusetts’ central business district, is a mixed-use area encompassing residential zones, commercial strips, and manufacturing sites. Once thriving, the neighborhood now bears visible signs of decline, including vacant lots, boarded-up stores, and deteriorating buildings, reflecting decades of economic and demographic challenges since World War II. However, by the mid-1980s, renewed interest and the establishment of an organizational framework for revitalization signaled a turning point. This period marks a new phase of opportunity, offering hope for meaningful neighborhood renewal and development in Green Island.
  • Publication
    New England Domestic Gardens Before 1852
    (1976) Menke, William
    Investigating historic gardens, particularly early New England domestic gardens, is akin to navigating a complex maze—exciting yet filled with uncertainties. This project explores the challenges of understanding what, when, how, and why these gardens were cultivated, despite the incomplete historical record left by those who created them. The primary goal was to develop a guide to aid in the interpretation and potential recreation of early New England domestic gardens. This guide will be applied in planning for three adjacent historic homes owned by the Northampton Historical Society, each representing distinct periods of New England’s past. Due to the scarcity of authentic, well-documented gardens and the dynamic nature of garden materials and designs, a case study approach proved difficult. Even the gardens at Old Sturbridge Village, initially considered exemplary, were ultimately classified as conjectural, reflecting ongoing revisions as new research emerges. This project underscores the fluid and evolving understanding of historic gardens and emphasizes the need to thoughtfully use available knowledge in preservation and restoration efforts.