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Shaping the Future of Your Community

June 2009

A Citizen’s Guide to Involvement in Community Planning, Land Protection, and Project Review in Massachusetts

Mass Audubon's Losing Ground series documents changes in Massachusetts land use, exposing the harsh reality of habitat loss and sprawl. Over the past 40 years, the landscape of Massachusetts has been dramatically transformed. Shaping the Future of Your Community is Mass Audubon’s response to the issues revealed in Losing Ground. Working with you, we can maintain the Commonwealth's natural heritage for the benefit of future generations.

You can make a difference! Most land-use decisions are made at the local level by individual landowners acting in accordance with municipal rules and regulations. Ongoing development under existing rules will result in the loss of significant natural habitats, excessive energy consumption, dwindling water supplies, and increased pressures on municipal budgets and infrastructure. But there is an alternative to business-as-usual build-out and sprawl.

Mass Audubon’s easy-to-use guidebook, Shaping the Future of Your Community – A Citizen’s Guide to Involvement in Community Planning, Land Protection, and Project Review is designed to assist citizens like you make a difference in how land is developed and protected. This booklet will assist you in taking steps toward effective action.

Download Shaping the Future of Your Community.

Outreach and Assistance Program
In spring 2009, Mass Audubon launched the Shaping the Future of Your Community Outreach and Assistance Program. Bringing the guidebook to life, this program works to give you the tools you need for active involvement in guiding your community’s development.

The Outreach and Assistance Program will be holding series of workshops beginning fall 2009, targeting communities in the state’s two sprawl frontiers—the Blackstone River watershed in Central Massachusetts and the Taunton, Ten Mile, and Narragansett Bay watersheds in Southeastern Massachusetts. Workshops will review land use and development patterns in these communities, and provide guidance for crafting and implementing effective strategies to:

• Update and implement community plans
• Identify and protect the highest priority lands and water supplies
• Provide incentives for well-planned growth
• Develop housing and jobs in a sustainable manner
• Establish and apply regulations to minimize the impacts of development

Workshop dates and locations are being scheduled—check back soon! For more information and to learn how we can help you to achieve your vision for the future of your town, please contact Stephanie Elson, Project Director at selson@massaudubon.org or 781-259-2146.

Download Shaping the Future of Your Community (2007)

You can download individual sections or the whole document. Shaping the Future provides a comprehensive tool kit that will enable you to work effectively with others in your community and with land conservation organizations.

Cover Page * (527 kb)
Acknowledgements * (83 kb)
Introduction * (172 kb)
Chapter 1- How to Be an Effective Advocate * (240 kb)
Chapter 2- Who's Who of Local, Regional, State, Federal Management, and Environmental Agencies * (198 kb)
Chapter 3- Local Land Use Planning and Conservation Strategies * (272 kb)
Chapter 4- Zoning, Regulatory Land Use Controls, and Incentives * (322 kb)
Chapter 5- Land Protection * (492 kb)
Chapter 6- Project Review and Permitting * (338 kb)
Federal, State, and Local Environmental and Land Use Laws and Regulations Summary Chart * (131 kb)

Download the entire document*. (2.7 mb)

For more information please send your email inquiries to advocacy@massaudubon.org or call 781-259-2171.

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