All files classified under: Land Use

The City of Somerville asked CBI to conduct an impartial assessment of the issues surrounding the proposed development of the Assembly Square site in east Somerville. The Assembly Square Conflict Assessment is an inquiry by CBI into the possibility of a successful mediated process among a broad range of stakeholders.

As part of the Borderlands Project’s exploration of how to balance development and conservation in the rural CT-RI border region, the Village Innovation Pilot (VIP) engaged two towns in creating and implementing a vision for their future. Guided by technical experts and local pilot teams, residents participated in visioning and planning exercises to explore how to preserve a meaningful sense of place (the “heart and soul” of the communities) by integrating new development into town villages and centers.

A group of charitable organizations came together to create a non-profit homeless shelter in West Chester, PA, but faced objection by local businesses and residents due to fears about public safety. The County subsequently established a mediated process for working through these issues. Over the course of four sessions and many private caucuses, parties reached and amicably formalized agreement about what services the homeless shelter would provide and when.

The proposal by a Montana cement plant to burn hazardous waste raised public health and environmental concerns for nearby neighbors. In response, the Jefferson County Planning Board appointed a committee to draft zoning recommendations that would address the concerns of the community. The 11-member committee worked for six months to develop these recommendations, which were refined and adopted as part of the Jefferson County Vicinity Plan.

The National Park Service invited Patrick Field, Managing Director of CBI, Robert Fisher, Senior Mediator at Fisher Collaborative Services, and Ona Ferguson of CBI to conduct an assessment to determine the feasibility of using a negotiated rulemaking process to manage the use of motorized vehicles on the Cape Hattera National Seashore, North Carolina.

This paper will consider psychological barriers—a term that we use to encompass both cognitive barriers and construal biases—in participatory land-use planning processes. We define cognitive barriers generally as psychological structures, attributes, processes, and predispositions that inhibit the full, rational, creative consideration of information. Construal biases involve the undue or excessive personalization of issues or situations, the failure to properly consider the alternative perceptions or cognitions of others, or the inability to disassociate other parties’ personal views from situational positions or professional roles (if you are a planner or other public servant, you may recognize yourself as a frequent victim of this bias). Both phenomena affect the productive, “rational” consideration of plans and proposals in land use decision-making.

During the spring of 1991, residents of the Hyde Park Estates neighborhood noticed the construction of a massive water tank and large-scale water supply lines. Following their concern about the implications of this infrastructure for new development, residents and members from other interested parties formed the Hyde Park Planning Group. This process resulted in an improved development for the Summit Project, a comprehensive neighborhood plan to shape future development and benefits for the existing neighborhood residents.

CBI, in partnership with Kearns & West and Jonathan Raab of Raab Associates, Ltd., have delivered training to over two-hundred agency and stakeholder participants engaged in the relicensing of hydroelectric dams.