Can IT Industry Regenerate Mill Towns? Holyoke's Revitalization through Land-Use and Urban Design

Abstract

Mill towns of New England have been under distress for several decades due economic decline and depression in small manufacturing industry. These economic challenges contribute to the decaying urban environment and impoverishment of the communities. Information technology (IT) intensive industry has been touted as a panacea that can revitalize declined post-industrial economies. However, revitalization of a historic mill town with IT intensive industry may present unforeseen challenges and limitations to sustain the prosperity of local communities and vibrancy of urban environment. This paper analyzes to what extent the fostering of IT intensive industry in historic mill towns facilitates sustainable revitalization and aid the regeneration of the communities. This analysis focuses on recent developments in Holyoke, MA along with a brief review of economic redevelopment in Maynard, MA in the past based on high-tech industry. Holyoke is engaged in a major revitalization process catalyzed by the recent opening of ahigh performance computing center and subsequent development of the innovation district. We examine these revitalization efforts through the lens of smart growth strategies focusing on sustainability of the local urban environment. The investigation identifies urban morphology changes that are needed to create a synergy with the implementation of the IT intensive industry for the creation of vibrant nodes with mixed land-uses and a cohesive community.