Fostering land use dialog : community preservation as a growth management strategy in Massachusetts

Abstract

The Community Preservation Initiative (CPI) was an innovative attempt by the Massachusetts state government to stimulate discussion about land use and growth management at the local level. Based on land use and zoning information, CPI relied on geographic information systems (GIS) to model a potential development scenario for each of the 351 municipalities in the state. The process for generating these buildout maps purposefully involved officials at local, regional, and state levels. This thesis examines the success of the CPI process in evolving land use dialog within and between communities, and amongst planners at all three levels of government. Town planners in two different metropolitan regions of Massachusetts - Boston and Springfield - were interviewed about CPI's impact on local land use discussions. This research was supplemented by interviews with other regional planners and CPI staff. The results suggest that while CPI may eventually lead to changes in local land use, in the short term few changes have occurred to the dialog on growth management in the state. The results of this investigation should aid state and regional decision-makers in determining what future policies and approaches are needed to promote smart growth and regional planning in Massachusetts and other states.