ERVING — Erving Center’s assets, liabilities and future possibilities were reviewed in a study this spring, the findings of which will be discussed in a remote meeting on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
The study looked at Erving Center specifically — not the areas of Ervingside or Farley — in terms of its physical and cultural assets, and then made suggestions on how the town might approach future municipal planning in the area.
Major areas of the study include roads and other transportation infrastructure, green spaces and parks, cultural resources and the historical qualities of the town, said Erving Planning Assistant Mariah Kurtz.
The study was done by a senior-level University of Massachusetts Amherst architecture class on “public interest design” — a field that uses architecture to address community problems.
During March, students met with various stakeholder groups in Erving — business owners, residents, Erving Elementary School students — to understand the town’s concerns and priorities.
“We heard consistent themes. We heard that people really love their town,” said Erika Zekos, the professor of the class and the director of the undergraduate architecture program at UMass. “And I think those consistent themes were also supported by the research we did.”
Some of the work was interrupted when, in mid-March, public life began shutting down and UMass switched to remote classes because of the coronavirus. But by that point, the class had already done almost all the public outreach it had planned on, and was able to finish the report largely as expected.
One piece had to be cut, though, Zekos said. A public art project that the class had planned to design with Erving Elementary School students had to be canceled.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.