Current GIS technology can provide valuable imaging for housing development patterns. The process of charting growth and transformation begins to provide specific suggestions about ways that neighborhoods can develop with full recognition of their past conditions, building on the positive attributes that may have once existed. Many of these attractive qualities in the small town setting are currently threatened by "outside" forces and pressures. One of the most notable examples of this concern in Charlottesville is the area surrounding the University of Virginia Medical Center. This neighborhood has a rich tradition dating back to the early nineteenth century, yet its particular identity and attributes have been seriously challenged and threatened by the ever expanding Medical Center. In the more distant past, the Vinegar Hill neighborhood was decimated in the name of "urban renewal", eliminating one of the most important and vibrant residential and commercial areas of Charlottesville's African-American community during the nineteen-sixties. A careful recognition of patterns and particular local conditions provides a much more constructive model for developing and reinforcing individual neighborhoods. GIS technology and the other computer based approaches explored in this project can strongly promote public appreciation for the community's heritage.
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