Goals and objectives of the proposal

The main goals of this proposal are explained in this section:

Goal-1 and its objectives

The Goal-1 is to improve the appearance and functionality of the Pepperell Mill while preserving the historic elements of the site. The mill town is located between the mill complex and Pepperell Parkway. This eastern portion of the village, between 22nd Street North and 26th Street North, contains eight full blocks and 3 partial blocks that are arranged along a rectangular street grid. The western portion of the village is located in the 26th Street North and is arranged in a curvilinear pattern that contains eight full blocks and one partial block. The mill site is located along the southern end of the village and was historically separated from it by a one block wide buffer that historically contained a school, the mill office, and an open space. The first goal is to improve safety and appearance of this place to increase its vitality and connectivity. The unused open spaces have made the mill more isolated from the village. On the other side, the village has lost its connection to the first street. Improving this area will help to revitalize a part of the First Street as well. Safety of the community will also improve by increasing and supporting social and economic activities in this area.

To achieve Goal-1 the following objectives will be fulfilled:

Removing all open spaces and parking lots which are solely unused,
Define the open spaces as residential areas,
Dividing the land into small lots with the same pattern of the existing village lots,
Using those streets that are started in front of the mill and ended to the village,
Preparing light and safe pedestrian walks for those streets, and
Planting trees along sidewalks to provide shade for pedestrians.

Goal-2 and its objectives

Goal-2 of the proposal is to improve equity and life quality of the community around Pepperell Mill. There is a growing recognition of the importance of equity to development. Several urban developers recognize equity as a central goal in urban planning. However, approaches to achieve this goal are not well studied. Literally, equity refers to moral equality. People should be treated as equals. Improving the equality in a community is achievable through distributing goods and services across a society, making the decision makers responsible for their influences, goods and services distributions, and using these influences to ensure fair treatment for all residents [2].

To achieve Goal-2 the following objectives will be fulfilled:

Defining new small size lots which not only helps to have more houses but also keep the prices much affordable,
Gradually removing mobile houses in the south of the mill, and
Preserve the historic form of the buildings and structures in the site.

Goal-3 and its objectives

Goal-3 of the proposal is to improve the local economy of the community. In the literature, the term local economy refers to a market and networking system that is part of a community. For example, a typical local economy may have residents within the community who purchase their meat from the local butchers. Bluchers also buy their meat from the local slaughterhouse and so on. A healthy local economy benefit residents, local businesses and the environment. In a local economy, shops are often owned by a private person, family, friends or small groups of people and work independent of each other. It should be noted that people associated with these shops are also part of the community. To improve the local economy of the Pepperell Mill community the interactions and interrelationships of shop owners and residents should be improved. In building social capital local economies help create and support local networks. For example, a local grocer is more likely to buy their vegetable and fruit stock from a nearby farm, than a huge multinational supermarket. This will also benefit the seller minimizing the costs, and reducing the costs for the consumer [3].

To achieve Goal-3 the following objectives will be fulfilled:

Using the 1st street potentials to improve the local economy,
Preserving the mill in the best way to response to new condition of the village over time and new community needs,
Helping the small and local businesses to be seen and cherished, and
Preparing better conditions and potentials for new jobs.

Methodologies and approaches

To achieve the goals and objectives of the proposal following approaches will be used.

Approach-1

To achieve Goal-1 and its objectives the vast gap between the mill and community which acts as an unpleasant barrier will be removed. In this approach, the neighborhood hierarchy concept can help to properly deal with the street face-blocks area as a neighborhood units to develop a residential area. The connection between the mill and the adjacent streets and walkways will be improved by defining this land as a residential area. Hence this community will be well connected to other parts of the village. As a matter of fact, this approach will bring a new life to adjacent streets.

Approach-2

To achieve Goal-2 and its objectives is to provide a proper and affordable housing plan. Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) which are significantly improved over late Twentieth and early Twenty-First Century can help to get more effective and efficient results. In this approach, new small size residential lots will be designed in the area. This will allow the Mill and surrounding areas of Mill to be attached to other part of the village. Furthermore, the construction costs will be much affordable to the community. This approach not only can improve the social equity in the community but also helps to preserve the historic characteristic of the area. This community can encourage and help people living in the adjacent mobile houses and trailer park to gradually move into more proper and affordable houses. In return, the trailer area can be turned to a public space like a woodland park for future needs. For selling these lots residents of the mobile houses will be at top priority.

Approach-3

To achieve Goal-3 and its objectives an approach which focuses on the socio-economic aspects of the development will be used. In this approach one part of the site along the 1st Street will be designated to economic activities. As shown in red in Figure 9 small commercial buildings along the street can create several job opportunities in the area. The adjacent farmers market can be moved to this area to create a traditional and cozy commercial space. This approach will lead to a commercial zone.