Creating A Community A New Ecological, Economical, and Social Path to Uniting a Community

• Main Author: Stadnicki, Andrew
• Format: Others
• Published: ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst 2017
• Subjects: Ecological; Economical; Social; Community; Green; History
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/538; https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1562&context=masters_theses_2

Humans are evolutionarily programmed to respond positively to nature, and maintaining a connection to it is necessary to the health and well being of every individual while we collectively stride for the goal of sustainability. This Thesis proposal will examine land and water restoration through the service of a sustainable community center. Environmentally low impact, organic, and vernacular design will be investigated as a means to heal, site and community with various techniques of resilient applications. The area of research is the Blackstone River Valley, once the heart of America’s first industrial revolution. Canals, factories and mills bordered the shores of the Blackstone River and left the land and water with a legacy of pollution. The Blackstone River was once known as the most polluted waterway in the country, with extensive toxic sediment that continues to require remediation. The Thesis is located on the former Fisherville Mill site, a brownfield-designated area in the town of Grafton, Massachusetts. This design will be a possible prototype for other mill sites within the Blackstone River Valley by re-inserting an environmental and economic component into the site. The goal will be to return a degraded location into a site that will allow the community to reinvest in a spirit of reverence for their land and water.