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Thu Jun 24, 2010 at 10:02:17 AM EDT
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(Where the rubber hits the road in Amherst - promoted by eli_beckerman)
In our recent columns we questioned whether the historically inherited political structure of our existing towns with their existing borders remains relevant for addressing the looming energy and climate crises we face and suggested the benefits of a regional approach to economic production and services. We also introduced the logic of relocalization, which would make towns more energy and food self-reliant and more carbon-conserving by shortening the distances of people to work and crops to market. We now examine as case studies in relocalization two plans under review for Amherst: a corporate R&D project that has been proposed for land zoned "professional research park" or PRP in the very north of Amherst, and a redevelopment project that would bring a mix of housing and commercial/retail space to an area between the downtown and the UMass campus called the Gateway District. |
| robc :: Amherst Grapples with Relocalization |
| Leaving aside the expected financial costs and benefits for Amherst and private property owners in the as-yet undefined projects, we question the appropriateness of the PRP undertaking regarding location, investment in infrastructure, and potential unintended consequences. On the other hand, we favor the Gateway town center redevelopment, which comports more clearly with the principles of relocalization as we conceive them. While both projects may refer to the town's master plan for justification, the master plan appears conflicted between the goals of centralizing living and commercial structures near the town center and expanding the town's economic base at the expense of promoting sprawl. Unfortunately, situating a commercially oriented enterprise at the town's northern border will induce sprawl within and beyond the town, resulting in a lack of structural definition between the core and an outer ring of agricultural land. The undeveloped PRP land near the edge of town may best serve the town and surrounding area by remaining available for expected future food production needs.
It is understandable, considering the declining economic conditions of our Great Recession, why Amherst would be interested in wringing revenue from the PRP. However, an advantage for the town is not necessarily an advantage for the region. Regional planners and legislators should direct the substantial outlay of money to improve utility service, extend sidewalks and bicycle routes, and repair or reconfigure the adjacent roadway elsewhere-to existing city centers in need of urban renewal. Springfield, Chicopee, and Holyoke were long ago designed for residential, industrial and business development. Their slow decline has been devastating for both the economy and ecology of our region-and this older built environment needs to be recycled. Instead of the PRP project, Amherst should focus on redevelopment of underused land and brownfields within the North Amherst village center, which is more consistent with averting leapfrog sprawl and pressure for housing development in neighboring towns.
The Gateway proposal, by contrast, is the kind of project that we believe is appropriate for Amherst and positions the town to adjust to the approaching post carbon society, more nearly combating sprawl while developing useful new assets. Taking place on already-developed land and requiring much less in the way of infrastructure improvement, it would conserve limited resources, reinforce existing use patterns, and ameliorate a key weakness in the Town of Amherst: the safe and efficient housing and transportation of all those students who come here for higher education. By locating students closer to campus and the local businesses and facilities they use, it may be expected that personal vehicle use by students will drop (as it must regardless). The partial alleviation of stresses that inadequate student housing has brought to nearby residential neighborhoods, including quality-of-life conflicts and economic impacts, should be another important benefit. The new commercial features of this project can also serve existing residents of the neighborhood, providing greater access to goods, services, and jobs within walking or bicycling distance of their homes. If the Gateway project is successful, the increased vitality of that area would (Strike-ideally) have a positive effect on the economic climate for existing and new businesses in the downtown area, perhaps inspiring additional relocalization efforts in the downtown and other village centers.
Rob Crowner, Steve Randall, and Larry Ely constitute the leadership team of the Pioneer Valley Relocalization Project. |
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Green Mass Group is an online forum for Green thought and collective action in Massachusetts. It is a community forum for justice, sustainability, democracy and health in the Commonwealth and beyond.
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"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No. I believe that we could have made the tough choices required - on entitlement reform and tax reform - right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year. Most importantly, it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America."
--President Barack Obama on the debt ceiling "deal"
"Despite Democratic control over the White House, despite Democratic control over the Senate, despite overwhelming opposition from the American people, a small minority of the members of the Republican-controlled House have successfully pushed an extreme right-wing agenda onto the American political landscape. It is an ideology which believes that despite the fact that the rich are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking, and poverty is increasing, all - all of the burden for deficit reduction should rest on working people."
--Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on the debt ceiling "deal"
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Then and Now
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Then...
"Last year Evergreen, a Massachusetts company, agreed to establish their first-ever United States based manufacturing facility here in Massachusetts. They did so, or are doing so, at Devens. They have now agreed and chosen to triple their size at Devens. Their next phase of expansion, right here in Massachusetts, a signature company in a signature sector, and we congratulate all of the folks at Evergreen and look forward to continuing to work with you...
We made a personal commitment to Evergreen for the sake of Evergreen, but also because we wanted to show that there are ways in which state government, in working together with private industry and with the utility companies, could begin to create a different kind of environment, a different kind of business climate here, to grow that sector, and it is happening. It's happening. Evergreen is one of the most prominent examples, but there are a whole host of examples."
--Governor Deval Patrick, April 7, 2008, boasting about state investment in Evergreen.
and Now...
"Evergreen Solar Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, completing a stunning reversal of fortune for a high-flying alternative-energy company that once seemed to herald a new era for the Massachusetts economy... At its peak, Evergreen employed roughly 900 people locally and attracted more than $50 million in state support, as its stock price soared above $100 a share.
Yesterday, Evergreen's stock closed at 18 cents. The company shuttered its manufacturing plant in Devens earlier this year and now has only 85 employees left. Massachusetts is one of its top creditors, owed $1.5 million in rent."
--Erin Ailworth, Boston Globe, August 16, 2011
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