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Microsoft Word - Sense of Commu Chapter 2 - Sense of Community and Town Facilities
Durham Master Plan 2000
2.1
C h a p t e r 2
S E N S E O F C O M M U N I T Y
A N D T O W N F A C I L I T I E S
V
I S I O N
As we enter Durham we are drawn to its incredible natural beauty, its tidal
bay, its woods, and its country roads. Continuing on through Durham we
picture a community with an inviting, active, easily identified downtown,
which supports varied shops of differing character. We picture a warm
atmosphere inviting people to spend time in Durham. We envision a
Town that encourages you to walk or ride your bike through a picturesque,
bustling small community, with businesses and restaurants catering to all
of our citizenry. People live here because of our culture, our relationship
with the University of New Hampshire, pride in our school system and a
feeling of connectedness with other community members. Our vision for
the future of Durham is of a citizenry that is more involved in all aspects
of growth, development and decision making, with a growing downtown
and improved recreational facilities and gathering places. With the
continuing growth of southern New Hampshire, we will strive to maintain
our small-town character, while supporting a healthy business
environment.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
Sense of community is not a topic often found in master plan documents.
It is not a quantifiable concept that can be easily demonstrated with
statistics and data. It is a feeling and a condition that is experienced
differently by different people. Why would anyone address such a
subjective notion as part of a master plan? Chapter 2 - Sense of Community and Town Facilities
2.2
Durham Master Plan 2000
A master plan outlines the vision a community has of itself or would like
to promote for itself. In essence, this vision is the definition of sense of
community. A well-defined sense of community can provide a justifiable
basis for the planning decisions and recommendations made throughout
this Master Plan.
Sense of community can be defined as a combination of identity, image,
and connections and sense of belonging. Identity is how we see ourselves
as a community, who we are, and what is important and valuable to us.
Image is how we are seen as a Town, how we look, and how we are
remembered. Connections and sense of belonging is an awareness of,
involvement in, and understanding of the community in which we live.
Throughout this master planning process and in studies and workshops
prior to this, the need for an enhanced sense of community was often
discussed as an important factor in planning the future of the Town of
Durham. The 1995 Community Development Plan described Durham as a
town with a strong identity that is in need of a revitalized image and
enhanced connections among its varied residents.
O U R I D E N T I T Y
There are certain aspects of our identity that most residents can easily
agree upon. This common view of our community is an underlying theme
that unites a diverse population. In the various community workshops and
the 1995 Community Development Plan Durham residents expressed their
views about their community.
The following are some common aspects of the identity of Durham: We take pride in and wish to maintain our small-town character. We value and prize our rural environment and rich natural
resources. We enjoy the intellectual and cultural benefits of being a
university town, while living with the pressures associated with
this relationship. We take great pride in our educational system. We value Durham's strong sense of history.
O U R I M A G E
How we are seen as a Town is important to our sense of community. The
pride we feel for our Town is directly related to its appearance. The image Chapter 2 - Sense of Community and Town Facilities
Durham Master Plan 2000
2.3
we promote to prospective residents, students, and businesses affects their
decisions to invest in this community. As part of this chapter, the image
and appearance of the Town will be discussed. Included in this discussion
will be the perceived need for an identifiable Town center and library
complex, the desire for an improved downtown with greater emphasis on
pedestrians, and the idea of gateways to the Town as important factors in
establishing a lasting, positive image for the Town.
CONNECTIONS & SENSE OF BELONGING
An awareness of, involvement in, and understanding of the community we
live in are integral to the enhancement and development of a sense of
community. It is crucial that residents have the opportunity to know and
become involved in events and meetings in their community. This need
for better communications will be addressed in this chapter.
Town Facilities
In addition to the general idea of sense of community, this chapter also
discusses several specific existing Town facilities. Recommendations will
be made based on current and future needs. Included in this discussion
will be the future location of the Durham Fire Station (the lease for the
current location expires in the year 2009), location for the Durham
Ambulance Corps, as well as the potential future needs of the Oyster River
School District in Durham. Recommendations for the Town Hall, the Old
Town Hall, Courthouse, the Craig Supply property and the H.A. Davis
Building (Grange) will also be discussed. This chapter also contains
discussion of and recommendations for areas in which the Town and
University can better work together to achieve common goals.
It will not come as a surprise when we say that Durham's residents have
widely diverse opinions regarding how our identity and our image should
be represented in the future or how a sense of belonging is nurtured and
grown. This Master Plan process is an opportunity to understand the
issues facing Durham, to balance varied points of view, and to achieve
compromises for the good of the Town as a whole.
T O W N C E N T E R Chapter 2 - Sense of Community and Town Facilities
2.4
Durham Master Plan 2000
B A C K G R O U N D
The need for a Town center to improve our sense of community was
discussed in the 1989 Master Plan and the 1995 Community Development
Plan: Many people feel that Durham lacks a center - an identifiable
'Town common' and places for informal social interactions. In previous
plans, suggested solutions include: building a community center/Town
library, developing more areas conducive to socializing, and improving
the downtown aesthetically as a magnet for residents rather than just
students (1995 Community Development Plan, p. 31). The 1998 Master
Plan Survey indicated that 56% of those polled favored the development
of a Town center.
Partially in an effort to respond to the desires outlined in the 1995
Community Development Plan, UNH and the Town agreed to establish a
separate and independent Durham Public Library in 1996. This library is
currently located in temporary quarters in the Mill Plaza. The Library
Board of Trustees is currently discussing and investigating the potential
for a permanent home for the library. The future location for this facility
has the potential of anchoring a Town center for Durham, which would
become an active social hub that draws residents into Town.
The 1993-1994 Town Facilities Plan (authored by the Town Administrator
and the various department heads) identified the future space planning
needs for each of the Town's departments. That plan identified the
immediate need for adequate facilities for the Police Department. It also
discussed the consolidation of the Department of Public Works to a
location separate from the existing municipal complex. Both these
recommendations were acted upon, which had the effect of decentralizing
Town government and freeing up some space in the cramped confines of
the existing Town Hall. When the Department of Public Works and the
Police Department moved to their new facilities, the Town Hall site began
to make sense as a site for the development of a Town/civic center
containing the Town offices and/or a Town library.
N E E D S
Sites for the various needed functions associated with a Town center may
be chosen in a piecemeal fashion depending upon which department or
organization is ready to act or what property becomes available.
However, with proper advance planning, the community may be able to
shape the results so that the collection of shared spaces will become an
attractive presence greater than the individual parts. Chapter 2 - Sense of Community and Town Facilities
Durham Master Plan 2000
2.5
A Town center can be many different things. It can be a busy commercial
center that attracts residents and provides a stage for social interaction. It
may not even be a building or set of buildings, but instead be a geographic
center such as the classic New England town green, which is bo