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GIS Municipal Model Project Outline
Municipalities: Town of Amherst, Town of Clarence
Project Name and Description: Amherst and Clarence Youth Planning Project
The Amherst and Clarence Youth Planning Project involved the successful collaboration of the towns of Amherst and Clarence, located in Western New York , the State University of New York College at Buffalo , and four school districts: Amherst , Clarence, Sweet Home, and Williamsville. The Project’s primary objective was to encourage students to participate in the ongoing comprehensive planning efforts in their communities. By involving students in the process of planning, town officials hoped that students would develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the influences and impacts of planning decisions on their hometown and surrounding communities. Students were also encouraged to understand the interrelationships between the communities’ natural and social attributes. Linked to the ongoing comprehensive planning processes in both towns, involving youth in the planning process was intended to broaden public participation while providing students and their teachers with exciting opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to the real-life situations occurring within and between their communities.
Teachers from the four districts worked with community planners and Buffalo State College faculty to develop lessons in a variety of subjects such as government, social studies, science, art and technology. Each lesson was designed to involve students in activities related to comprehensive planning and community development.
An important feature of the Project was the development of a website to provide teachers and students with ready access to community planning and project information. This information, the teacher’s lesson plans, and other information was posted to the Website. The Website will be maintained and updated in the future to encourage continued student involvement in their community. The Website is located at:
http://www.amherst.ny.us/archive/govt/planning/comp_plan/schools/intro.htm
The Internet is an emerging medium for accessing public information and eliciting public participation. The Project Website featured email correspondence with public officials and an online (web-based) geographic information system (GIS), the Youth Map Machine. Teachers were provided with training on the use of GIS, and the towns developed online GIS maps and applications. Students learned to navigate the GIS system, providing them with an understanding of the geography of their community and its relationship with the neighboring community. In addition, the Project provided the towns with the necessary hardware and software to develop and maintain an interactive web-based mapping system. These resources have been used to develop and implement several applications that are linked to the Website, improving and enhancing opportunities for public participation in the two communities.
Project status and schedule:
Project initiation January – March 2001
Procure and provide technical support January 2001 – December 2003
Summer 2001 Teacher workshop June 2001
2001 – 2002 Project development & support 2001 – 2002 School Year
Summer 2002 Teacher workshop July 2002
2002 – 2003 Project support & implementation 2002 – 2003 School Year
Project finalization December 2003
Resources and funding sources:
Quality Community funds expended: $42,127
Participant direct and in-kind expenses: $67,022
Total project cost: $109,149
Involved Agencies, and state and local government/academic and private sector partners:
Buffalo State College – provided GIS, planning, and curriculum development
instruction, as well as use of college GIS computer labs.
Supporting Parties:
Williamsville Central Schools , Amherst Central Schools , Clarence Central Schools , Sweet Home Central Schools
Benefits to the Municipality and Community:
Students were given the opportunity to learn about and participate in planning issues relevant to their community and that of the neighboring town. The intricacies of planning, the difficulty
in balancing multiple community goals, and the application of technology were demonstrated to students through various activities and instruction. It is believed that the interest shown by students
in these activities can be sustained and expanded upon, resulting in the students becoming more aware and involved in their communities. Both towns made significant progress toward the goal of
increasing involvement by extending participation to youth, a group often overlooked in community planning.
Member of Data Sharing Cooperative:
Amherst – Yes
Clarence – No
Collaborative Effort:
The collaborative efforts among the various partners proved vital to the Project’s success. Teachers were given an opportunity to work with teachers
from other districts and schools, as well as personnel at Buffalo State College and the Towns of Amherst and Clarence. In addition, several teachers from different disciplines (such as science,
history, and art) worked together on developing and teaching lesson plans. The towns also worked together with Buffalo State College personnel. This positive legacy of collaboration created relationships
that can be built upon in future activities and initiatives. It may also prove to be a model for others interested in pursuing a similar project.
Model Features:
The products developed through this Project will continue to be valuable educational resources. Because unit and lesson plans were developed using New York State
standards, they are transferable to other schools in the state. The Website and Youth Map Machine are helpful information resources on community planning and GIS geared towards middle and high
school aged students. In addition, since the New York State Social Studies curriculum emphasizes the use of original documents and local resources in instruction, the website content will serve
as an invaluable resource for teachers. Several schools purchased ArcView8x licenses with funds provided through the Grant. The schools can use ArcView8x to supplement the Youth Map Machine. The
towns can now provide other digital geographic resources directly to the schools to help students learn more about their community and become more active participants in planning for its future.
Keys to Success:
There were several keys to the success of the Amherst and Clarence Youth Planning Project. The Project had the support of elected officials in both municipalities,
as well as school administrators in the four school districts. Also, because the towns of Amherst and Clarence had collaborated on previous projects, this experience could be drawn upon in participating
in the Youth Planning Project. Buffalo State College also proved to be an important educational and technology resource and partner in the Project’s success. Finally, the Town of Amherst
Office of Information Technology provided invaluable experience with technological resources and capabilities that were essential to the development of the website and online mapping technologies.
Location: Western New York north of the City of Buffalo–suburban communities
Population: Town of Amherst - 116,510 and Town of Clarence - 26,123 (2000 Census)
County: Erie
Contact:
Daniel Howard, Associate Planner & Project Manager
Town of Amherst Planning Department
5583 Main Street
Williamsville , New York 14221
Telephone: 716-631-7051
Fax: 716-631-7153
Email: dhoward@amherst.ny.us