LSS300: Rethinking Landscape: The Place

Use newspapers and online local news sites to document the current events as well as the history of an area and public opinion (in editorials) about events and development.

City of Northampton
Official website includes:

• City charter and ordinances
• Agendas and minutes of committees, commissons, boards
• Maps and GIS data
• Sustainable Northampton Plan
• Open Space, Recreation & Multi-use Trail Plan (2010)
• Planning Documents
  Department of Public Works, Office of Planning & Development, Transportation & Parking Commission
• Planning, zoning, construction permits
• Demographic information and other statistics

Town of Amherst
Official website includes:

• Town by-laws
• Archive Center
The digital repository for the town's historical documents including committee and commission agendas and minutes, the annual reports of the Town of Amherst
• Maps and property information, GIS data
• 2010 Town Master Plan
  Amherst's Master Plan addresses its future through recommendations regarding land use, housing, economic development, natural & cultural resources, parks & open space, community services & facilities/utilities, transportation ..."
• Voter information including election results

Town of Hadley
Virtual Town Hall includes:

• Town by-laws
• Agendas and minutes from town committees, commissions, and boards

Crime

Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics. US Dept. of Justice, FBI
"The UCR Program collects statistics on violent crime (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft)." Data on cities and counties are available from 1985 to the present. The table building tool allows users to compare data on multiple locations and multiple types of crime.

Northampton Police Department

• Crime Statistics 
• Daily Dispatch Log

Amherst Police Department

• Annual Reports including crime statistics
• Arrest and Call Log

Transportation 

City of Northampton Website

• Transportation
  Brief description of options, includes maps of rail trails

Town of Amherst Master Plan

• Chapter 9: Transportation and Circulation 
• Map Gallery. Includes a series of maps detailing transportation in Amherst including:
  Roadway Classifications, Roadway Ownership, Bicycle Routes, Pedestrian Paths and Trails, Public Transportation Routes
• Transportation Plan Task Force. Minutes and agendas are filed in the town's online  Archive Center