The Growth Centers data on the Future Land Use Map were developed for the Division of Planning, RI Statewide Planning Program as part of an update to a state land use plan. These data are included in the Plan as Figure 121-02-(01), Future Land Use Map. The growth centers were an end product of a GIS overlay analysis of land suitability and scenario planning for future growth. Initially the factors for centers included 9 urban communities; Providence, East Providence, Pawtucket, Cranston, Central Falls, Warwick, West Warwick, Newport and Woonsocket as potential urban centers as opposed to identifying specific neighborhoods in those municipalities. Historical downtowns and traditional mixed-use central business cores in urban fringe / suburban communities were included as potential town centers, as well as, some of the historical village downtowns and some traditional mixed-use cores in rural communities. All communities in the State either include one or more existing or potential centers or are within the Urban Services Boundary on the map. The growth centers shown in these data were selected by the Statewide Planning staff, the Technical Committee and the State Planning Council through a series of discussions at public meetings, and comments received at public hearings and workshops in the final adoption of Land Use 2025 in 2006. Centers depicted on the Future Land Use 2025 map are illustrative of potential new centers that may be established. It is not a intended as a comprehensive inventory of existing centers. Other centers may be illustrated and or proposed in municipal comprehensive plans. Full descriptions of the methodology for the GIS analysis and scenario planning can be found within the Technical Appendix D to Land Use 2025, Geographic Analysis for Land Available and Suitable for Development for Land Use 2025. Land Use 2025: State Land Use Policies and Plan was published by the RI Statewide Planning Program on April 13, 2006. The Plan directs the state and communities to concentrate growth inside the Urban Services Boundary (USB) and within potential growth centers in rural areas. It establishes different development approaches for urban and rural areas. This Map has several purposes and applications: It is intended to be used as a policy guide for directing growth to areas most capable of supporting current and future developed uses and to direct growth away from areas less suited for development. Secondly, the Map is a guide to assist the state and communities in making land use policies. It is important to note the Map is a generalized portrayal of state land use policy. It is not a statewide zoning map. Zoning matters and individual land use decisions are the prerogative of local governments. Growth Centers are envisioned to be areas that will encourage development that is both contiguous to existing development with low fiscal and environmental impacts. They are intended to be compact developed areas (existing or new) containing a defined central core that accommodate community needs for residential and economic functions. Centers are intended to provide optimum use of land and services, and offer a choice of diverse housing stock, economic functions, and cultural and governmental uses. Density will vary greatly between centers subject to site constraints; however, it is intended that they will share the common characteristic of compact development that capitalizes on existing infrastructure. Centers should reflect traditional New England development patterns with a human scale of blocks, streets, open spaces that offer walkability and access to transit where available. In suburban areas, centers should be distinguished from surrounding sprawling development by a closer proximity between residential and non-residential uses. In rural areas, centers should be surrounded by natural areas, farmland, or open space, and may have a mixed-use and or commercial area in the core for neighborhood-scale goods and services. The land use element is the over arching element in Rhode Island's State Guide Plan. The Plan articulates goals, objectives and strategies to guide the current and future land use planning of municipalities and state agencies. The purpose of the plan is to guide future land use and to present policies under which state and municipal plans and land use activities will be reviewed for consistency with the State Guide Plan. The Map is a graphical representation of recommendations for future growth patterns in the State. The Map contains a USB that shows where areas with public services supporting urban development presently exist, or are likely to be provided, through 2025. Also included on the map are growth centers which are potential areas for development and redevelopment outside of the USB. These data will be updated when plan is updated or upon an amendment approved by the State Planning Council.

This group includes the following items: 1. Hampton Roads Elevation Certificate Building Footprints: includes only building footprints where final elevation certificates are available, with elevations reported in the vertical datum provided on the elevation certificate (NGVD 29 or NAVD 88). 2. Hampton Roads Elevation Certificate Parcels: includes only parcels where final elevation certificates are available, with elevations reported in the vertical datum provided on the elevation certificate (NGVD 29 or NAVD 88). Elevation certificates were collected from the following 12 localities: Chesapeake, Franklin, Gloucester County, Hampton, James City County, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Southampton County, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and York County. Localities included in the current inventory were able to provide digital elevation certificate copies. This inventory is not complete for the region, and elevation certificates will continue to be added to the database when available. The elevation certificate database was developed by HRPDC staff with support from the Center for Geospatial, Science, Education, and Analytics at Old Dominion University (ODU). We would like to acknowledge Manuel Solano (ODU) for his contributions to the Gloucester County and City of Norfolk elevation certificate data development.Building footprints are courtesy the VGIN statewide building footprints layer and locality GIS departments. Building attributes and parcels are courtesy of the Hampton Roads Regional Parcels layer and locality GIS departments. Current flood zones are courtesy of the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, with base flood elevations reported in NAVD 1988 where available. A complete list of attribute descriptions is available here. Created 2/8/2019Updated 10/10/2020