Predicting the Impacts of Suburban Development upon an Historically Valuable Landscape, the Boston Region South Shore

Abstract

The historic resources evaluation model is one of twenty-eight computer models designed to predict future suburban growth in the South Shore of Boston and evaluate the resultant environmental, fiscal and demographic impacts. The historic resources model evaluates the specific, often qualitative impacts of suburban development on historic places and on the character of their associated landscapes. The evaluation is based upon an extensive inventory undertaken by the research team, and checked against inventories conducted by various local historical associations. For unprotected historic resources, the principal public means of affording protection is through conservation expenditures. The historic resources model therefore provides input to a model of the conservation process, as a critical resource, or a resource worth conserving. It also monitors and evaluates the impacts of development, both in terms of the direct impact of physical loss of historic structures and their degradation due to changes in the visual quality of their surroundings.