Norwell Master Plan
Location: Norwell, Massachusetts
Date completed: 2003
Client: Town of Norwell, Massachusetts

 

A series of public workshops involved local citizens in developing overall goals and action strategies for each element of the plan.

Dodson Associates worked with a team headed by The Community Design Partnership to prepare a Master Plan for this growing suburb southeast of Boston. Responsibilities included preparation of the Open Space & Recreation and Land Use elements of the plan, and coordinating conservation of natural and cultural resources with plans for continued development. Future growth will be shaped by completion of a protected "green network," containing the areas and corridors essential to the environmental health and quality of life for local residents. At the same time, the plan identifies future growth areas where higher densities or mixed uses could help provide needed services and housing choices to local residents. Dodson Associates was responsible for all GIS mapping, analysis and visualization for the project, designed to help residents understand and evaluate alternative future growth patterns.

Advanced GIS visualization tools, including digital 3D modeling, helped participants understand the relationship between mapped information and the physical form of the landscape. Click image for full view.		An updated inventory of protected land identified the building blocks of a future ‘green network’ of protected open space Click image for full view.
Using recent aerial photography from Massachusetts Geographic Information System, the project was able to develop new map overlays with unprecedented detail. Click image for full view.		A detailed buildout status map identified the development potential of every parcel, from those that are permanently protected (green) to those that are fully built-out under current zoning (red). Click image for full view.