The way we plan the physical layout, or land use, of communities is fundamental to sustainability. Land use practices, both good and bad, affect the composition, function and aesthetics of the built environment. Unfortunately, misguided beliefs and poor planning practices have negatively impacted communities within the MAPC planning area. Grappling with low density housing spread over vast areas, large pedestrian-unfriendly roadways, strip malls accessible by car only, diminishing, fragmented open spaces, and disconnect between where people work, live and recreate, communities increasingly recognize the need to plan for a more sustainable future.

Through projects, initiatives and public outreach, MAPC is helping communities achieve sustainability. Recent MAPC activities aimed at helping communities implement sound land use practices include:

• Creating strategic plans, including Master Plans and Community Development Plans under Executive Order 418;
  
• Preparing municipal bylaws;
  
• Modeling alternative land use scenarios;
  
• Producing buildout and fiscal impact analyses;
  
• Tracking land use change;
  
• Creating guidance documents, such as Tools for Communities to Address Growth, and the Conservation Subdivision Design Project: Booklet for Developing a Local Bylaw and Conservation Subdivision Design: Four Case Studies;
  
• Publishing the Planner's Exchange;
  
• Community visioning;
  
• Holding development forums, such as the Route 126 project meeting in Ashland and the Route 85 Corridor Study in Hudson-Marlborough.

Click below for additional land use information and model bylaws:

American Planning Association
Urban Land Institute
Planner's Web
Citizen Planner' Training Collaborative
Center for Livable Communities
New Hampshire PlanNet
Cape Cod Commission

Please direct inquiries about MAPC's land use activities and services to Mark Racicot at (617) 451-2770 ext. 2063
e-mail: mracicot@mapc.org

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