Panel Discussion: GIS Tools for Municipal Buildout Analysis

Participants:
Christian Jacqz, Director, MassGIS, Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
Richard Sutton, Senior GIS Analyst, Applied Geographics, Inc.

Mr. Sutton’s talk draws on AGI's work preparing buildout analysis for over 30 municipalities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. AGI's approach to buildout analysis (i.e., under the EOEA Community Preservation Plan) will be presented first, followed by an introduction to and explanation of the Buildout Analysis Tool (BAT) developed by AGI. The BAT enables users to generate alternative buildout scenarios by altering assumptions concerning zoning bylaws, rates of population growth, school population growth, waste generation, etc., or zoning geometry. The talk will conclude with a discussion of the implications of conducting town by town buildout analysis and the potential for regional integration of current buildout analyses.