ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst
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Featured Items
Recent Submissions
Publication A Comparison of Resource-Centric vs. People-Centric Approaches to Open Space Planning: A Case Study in Jaffrey, NH(2011)Land preservation can be an important planning tool when used as part of a strategic and comprehensive vision. This planning process is complicated, however, by the diversity of functions and values associated with open space and the large number of potential stakeholders with an interest in the issue. This project examined alternative ways to approach the development of an open space plan and observed the interaction between competing forces during the planning process in the small rural community of Jaffrey, NH. One of the main issues examined was whether identification of potentially valuable open space would have different results when approached from a people‐centric perspective as opposed to a natural resource‐centric perspective. In this case study, it was found that resource‐centric mapping tended to identify valuable lands in relatively small, discrete patches. This type of analysis resulted in a fractured view of high‐value land that failed to identify the corridors that would be necessary to unite the patches into a cohesive network of linked landscapes. On the other hand, identification of valuable lands through the use of public focus sessions tended to result in broader swaths of targeted land. This resulted in a more comprehensive view of the landscape than that obtained from the strictly resource‐based mapping. With both approaches having elements to recommend them, a multi‐faceted An approach involving both scientific analysis and public input seems to be the optimal approach to open space mapping. This will require more expenditure of time and effort early in the planning process, but it will be more comprehensive and will have political benefits at the back end when it comes to selling the plan to the public.Publication Craigmillar Castle Park(2009)The castle of Craigmillar was begun in the late 14th century and was developed until the late 17th century, when it was abandoned and the lands surrounding it, which today comprise Craigmillar Castle Park (CCP) developed into a picturesque park and a plant nursery. This land has been a retreat from Edinburgh’s city center, recorded as early as the time of King James IV of Scotland, six centuries ago (Tabraham, 2003). The castle and its parkland have seen significant development of the gardens in the Tudor, Restoration, Georgian, Regency, and Victorian British historical periods. The park-like setting was a palette for developing into a Landscape Garden with Picturesque and Beautiful elements. It has since been the subject of hundreds of landscape paintings and drawings (CEC, 1994). As recently as fifty years ago, it was a day out destination for city residents, but it has since seen a dramatic decline in visitors (McGowan, 1999). This result of post-industrial decline, specifically for Craigmillar, the cessation of coal mining in the region, contributed to making planning for Craigmillar Park a low priority for the City of Edinburgh Council. Now, as the adjoining neighborhoods are undergoing major redevelopment (CEC, 1998), CCP is ready for a new era of use and enjoyment by locals and tourists (CEC, 2002b). This plan proposal both makes longer-term recommendations about the future form of the park and provides immediate design solutions for infrastructure improvements that enable broader access and will encourage visitation by adjoining neighborhoods, Edinburgh residents, and tourists from the city center.Publication The Caspian Coastal Greenway Vision Plan(2010)The purpose of this project is to develop a greenway vision plan for the Caspian Coastal Greenway that would go from Astrakhan city in Russia to Rasht in Iran, passing through diverse landscapes, populations, and jurisdictions. The main concentration of this project would be on the section of the greenway that is within the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The greenway would follow an ancient trading route that passes through and used to connect Russia, Persia, and India. The development of a greenway in this area would promote and reestablish cultural and trade-based connections and link diverse areas. Another purpose of this greenway would be to develop a network between existing protected areas and diverse landscapes that are currently fractured. This project will develop a broad vision plan for the entire western Caspian Region. The project will identify existing protected landscapes and locate open spaces, cultural heritage landscapes, and ecologically sensitive areas for future protection to create a continuous protected network.Publication Adaptive Reuse of Former Catholic Churches as a Community Asset(2010)The Catholic Church has experienced changes in the past half-century that have resulted in the restructuring of many dioceses, especially in the Midwest and Northeast, which, due to the The consolidation of parishes has left many church buildings in disuse. Because the architecture and design of many of these buildings are unique to the use of a church, adaptive reuse strategies are challenging to implement, but, due to their place in the vernacular of their respective neighborhoods and their ties to cultural heritage, the loss of the building is generally deemed tragic. Trends in the adaptive reuse of church buildings have been primarily commercial, although recently, there have been more cases of converting former church spaces into luxury condos. It is the view of this researcher that the original interior of these spaces should also be considered in the reuse strategy, and that these buildings should continue to play a positive role in their surrounding communities. Currently, there is no consensus on a set of best practices regarding the adaptive reuse of church buildings, and literature on the subject is limited. To form a set of adaptive reuse strategies specific to Catholic church buildings, a variety of methods are used, including interviews, a review of available literature, GIS analysis, and conducting case studies of previous reuse practices of converting Catholic church buildings for community-based uses. Recommendations for similar properties formed from this study will then be applied to the research site of Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Springfield, Massachusetts, a building recently closed by the Diocese of Springfield.Publication Windscape: Revealing the Intangible(2006)In the spring of 1999, a private developer, Cape Wind Associates, announced their plan to build the first offshore wind farm in the United States on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. Since then, the project has easily become one of the most aggressively contested regional engineering works in recent decades, with residents of Cape Cod and the Islands remaining sharply divided on the issue of a wind farm located in their backyard. As one of the most treasured areas of outstanding natural beauty, Nantucket Sound remains a local, state, and federally protected cultural landscape. However, with Horseshoe Shoal located more than three miles offshore, and out of state water jurisdiction, the wind farm project is subject only to federal review and legislation. As of January 2005, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed wind farm was still in the lengthy process of review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Cape Wind Associates, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has designed a grid formation for a 130-turbine wind park located across approximately two miles of Horseshoe Shoal. The design for the offshore park has been primarily determined by engineering guidelines, maximum energy output requirements, economic feasibility studies, and site-specific environmental attributes. To date, there is no proposal for an onshore landscape park, visitor center, or any type of interpretive component designated to engage the public with the proposed wind farm.
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