Precision Manufacturing in the Cnnecticut River Valley and Westfield, Massachusetts

Industry has thrived in the Connecticut River Valley since the middle of the seventeenth century. The Valley has a strong precision manufacturing history, which began in 1777 with the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts. Industry is important to keep the economy of an area balanced, as it provides a solid tax base for any municipality. The Springfield Armory reinvented the gun making industry in the Connecticut River Valley and affected the way industrialization developed in the United States through the invention of the Blanchard Lathe and the development of the interchangeable pieces in manufacturing. Presently, the center of the Valley, specifically the Springfield area, is dominated by small precision manufacturing firms. The Pioneer Valley Planing Commission\u27s Plan for Progress Report states that one of Massachusetts goals for the Connecticut River Valley is to sustain the precision manufacturing cluster in the area. This study will attempt go make a contribution towards understanding how to sustain the cluster of precision manufacturing in the Connecticut River Valley. It will describe what precision manufacturing is, identify what a cluster is and identify what makes the conglomeration of precision manufacturing shops in the Connecticut River Valley a cluster, and help find ways the state and local governments can contribute to the growth of the cluster already in place. Precision manufacturing is defined as the manufacture of individual pieces with extreme accuracy. This type of machining is used to make parts for various machines, including medical, aeronautical, and any other industry that requires identical parts to be created in large quantities. Precision manufacturing requires highly skilled workers to operate different machines to ultimately produce the desired piece. Precision manufacturing is still clustered in the Connecticut River Valley today, and keeping this manufacturing job base in the area is important to the economic health of the Valley and the following research will show how important this industry is to the Valley

A Vision for the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club

The goal of Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. In Fall 2013, the course completed three projects: Master Plans & Land-Use Elements, the Revitalization of the Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, MA), a Vision for the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club (Springfield, MA). For a Vision for the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club, the Studio Team of six students was tasked with helping the newly invigorated nonprofit rowing club write a plan that implements their vision and expands their programs the next five years. Historically, the rowing club was an organization with a small budget and devoted following. Recently, the organization experienced an influx of revenue in the form of a public health grant. This new budget presents opportunities for organizational prosperity and sustainability and the Studio Team provides strategies to sustain the organization. The client was Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Mill Building Repurposing Pilot Project (Twist Mill - Athol, MA)

The purpose of the UMass Amherst Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning’s participation in this project is to establish a redevelopment action plan that incorporates the ownership’s clear vision for reuse of the site, proposes solutions to various obstacles that have hindered progress, and serves as a guiding model in terms of improving the feasibility of similar projects throughout the state. The project team gathered information from a variety of resources, and conducted three distinct phases of analysis in order to complete this redevelopment action plan. The Phase I: Inventory examines the physical, regulatory, and financial context surrounding the current site in order to gauge its condition as a viable location to foster desired economic development for the region. The Phase II: Assessment utilizes these inventory findings to identify clear challenges that impact the redevelopment potential of the site in an effort to reduce overall project roadblocks. The Phase III: Implementation provides strategies to alleviate these challenges moving forward, in the form of clear recommendations for local, regional, and state level regulatory improvements. Phases I and II were conducted in the fall of 2013, and Phase III was conducted in the spring of 2014. Particular thanks for guidance on this project are extended to L.P. Athol Corporation ownership, Dr. John Mullin of the UMass Amherst Center for Economic Development, State Representative Denise Andrews of the Franklin County Second District, State Senator Stephen Brewer, State Senator Stanley Rosenberg, Congressman James McGovern, and the Town of Athol

An evaluation of Master Plans and their Land-Use Elements

The goal of Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. In Fall 2013, the course completed three projects: Master Plans & Land-Use Elements, the Revitalization of the Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, MA), an Asset map and plan for Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club (Springfield, MA). For the Master Plans & Land Use Element evaluations, this assignment was conducted as preparation for the Springfield-based projects. The goal was to evaluate the land-use element of a municipal master plan, while allowing the students to develop as teams and refine their analytical skills. Each team read the master plan’s introduction and land-use element, examined development that has occurred within the last five to ten years, and determined if recent development was consistent with the goals, objectives, policies, and programs of the adopted master plan. If the master plan was recently adopted, then the students were to determine if the master plan would correct any deficiencies. Materials for this project include an Executive Summary for all analyses and a Poster