Boston Society of Architects
Six New England states
A regionwide initiative to explore the causes of sprawl and solutions for ending it.
Project Highlights:
- This regional grassroots effort to end sprawl in New England brought together more than 1,000 citizens over two years to learn about sprawl and how to fight it.
- The charrette-based program, developed largely by Goody Clancy principal David Dixon, included three workshops, a weekend-long charrette, and multiple local forums. Leaders from different fields drafted an action agenda that helped characterize the problem as a regional issue with local solutions.
- To help inform citizens and galvanize them to action, Goody Clancy designed a poster that has been distributed to more than 6,000 municipalities and individuals throughout New England.
"[B]acked by a wide array of civic, governmental, environmental, and professional groups, the Civic Initiative brought together more than 1,000 citizens in 2000 and 2001. In forums, workshops, and a “future search,” participants focused on two general questions: Will we continue to sprawl, squandering a legacy of historic cities and open countryside? Can we find ways to grow that protect our heritage and our resources?"
How We Live, Urban Land Institute poster for A Civic Initiative for a Livable New England