The Center for Rural Massachusetts was established at the University of Massachusetts in 1985 because a new set of problems had arisen in the rural part of the state. Driven by rapid economic growth in urban areas and major changes in the rural economy, there was a widespread belief that uncontrolled growth posed a major threat to natural and built rural environments and raised concerns about the welfare of rural residents.
In the first decade of its existence, the Center's efforts addressed these problems through a program of applied research focusing on ways that growth could be managed and controlled through actions of rural communities. In retrospect, these efforts were quite successful, and the measures proposed in Center publications have been studied and adopted not only in Massachusetts, but also elsewhere in the United States and the world. Some former employees of the Center now hold highly significant planning positions in urbanizing parts of America, and others are writing about ideas initiated here in Massachusetts.
Starting in the middle part of the 1990's, the Center changed in two ways. One was to provide assistance and support to two new programs directed at rural Massachusetts communities. The new programs were the Massachusetts Rural Development Council and the Massachusetts Citizen Planner Training Collaborative.
The second change was tighter integration with activities in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. The Director's Report for 1996 to 2001 provides details on these activities.
After
some years at a minimal level of activity, the Center for Rural
Massachusetts is being re-energized, via new staffing, new research
and new projects and outreach in 2005. Efforts began during the
fall of 2004 and will start to be apparent during 2005 and beyond.
The Developing Vision
To quote from the draft vision statement for the “new” Center,
principally authored by Dr. Jack Ahern:
CRM focuses on the intersection
of natural resources conservation and planning to achieve multiple community
goals. CRM recognizes the inter-connected nature of the ecological, social, and
economic health of rural communities. CRM’s mission is to develop new models
for vibrant, rural communities to guide them to make informed decisions using
cutting edge tools when planning growth, protecting resources, fostering local
economic development and maintaining rural character.
The Center for Rural Massachusetts
is an integrated program involving a core group consisting of UMass Extension,
the Department of LARP and the Department of Natural Resources Conservation.
A larger advisory group will be formed to collaborate with CRM…
CRM is directed by a faculty
member of the Department of LARP, who reports to the Dean of the College of Natural
Resources and the Environment, and staff and collaborators who report to the
Natural Resource Conservation Division of UMass Extension.
CRM conducts research and
outreach to address land use and economic development issues in rural and suburban
communities. This is accomplished through close collaboration of faculty, students
and Extension staff.
CRM concentrates its efforts
on rural Massachusetts communities while engaging the broader issues of suburban
sprawl and sustainability from a national and international perspective.
CRM actively pursues external
funding to support and expand its mission.
CRM as part of UMass Extension
applies the research and teaching of the University to generate and communicate
knowledge and create innovative approaches, methods, and tools for addressing
critical issues facing rural communities. CRM and UMass Extension links the Massachusetts
Land Grant University with a larger community of people in collaborative partnerships
to address issues of fundamental importance to Massachusetts, the nation, and
international audiences.
A Brief Background
During its first ten years of existence, from 1985 to 1995, the Center for Rural Massachusetts at the University of Massachusetts became a leading force in the Commonwealth for providing rural and smaller communities with tools to better cope with unplanned and uncontrolled growth, with all of the attendant costs and losses from sprawled development.
State-of-the art work was done in regard to accommodating community growth with minimal loss of rural character, instituting open space zoning, creating vital village centers, quantifying change in rural Massachusetts, and exploring alternatives for economic development. Under the leadership of Professor Robert Yaro and Randall Arendt of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, the Center was an early proponent of smart growth.
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Prof. E. Bruce McDougall, followed in later years by Prof. Jack Ahern, assumed the directorship, and the Center’s role changed. Supportive affiliations were established with the Massachusetts Rural Development Council and the Massachusetts Citizen Planner Training Collaborative, allowing a focus on rural economic development and on training of local volunteer planning and zoning officials. The CPTC program in particular has remained active and an invaluable resource for hard-pressed municipal officials.
Starting in 2002, discussions began on reviving CRM, with
new emphasis on the most recent and compelling innovations in planning and smart
growth, and on working landscape programs to promote and retain resource-based
economic activity. Working closely with UMass Extension’s division of
Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, these discussions resulted
in the funding by NREC of two positions in 2004, one a forestry specialist
based at NREC and the other a land use planner in the Department of Landscape
Architecture and Regional Planning, the traditional home of CRM. Both of these
new positions are working collaboratively to re-energize CRM and broaden its
mission. Due to the foresight and generosity of Extension in understanding
that there must be a comprehensive approach to rural planning, the Center will
emerge in 2005 as a renewed vital force in Massachusetts, New England and the
country.
Additional Aspirations
In its effort to fulfill the aspirations of the new initiative,
CRM aims to:
- Link community land planning and growth management together
more closely with natural resources analysis and agricultural
and forestry conservation strategies.
- Become an ongoing and readily accessible repository for the
latest research into tools and techniques in planning and smart
growth; agriculture, forestry and other working landscape-related
activity; and non-regulatory strategies for balancing development
and preservation, including public private/public partnerships.
- Work collaboratively, not competitively, with governments,
trusts, non-profit and educational organizations.
- Find the most effective and efficient ways to make its work
available to public, private and non-profit beneficiaries.
We are striving to improve our web site so as to make it a useful resource for you.
Please send comments and suggestions to the webmaster, Marty Klein.
