A visual analysis is a tool for gaining new perspectives and solutions to a community's problems by using visual materials to convey them. As people struggle to maintain viable communities, unique alternatives to solving problems are sought. Following are instructions on how to conduct a process that is unique to your community's problems: a visual analysis. The process of a visual analysis can be broken down into several parts. The first part involves identification of the physical, demographic, and historic characteristics of the community. This includes information on the location, climate, topography, bodies of water, soil type, socio-economics, and patterns of development. Next, issues or problems are defined through community input and analysis of the photographic survey. Finally, solutions or recommendations are expressed in visual form for presentations to the community.

Various resources have enabled us to gather information for visual analysis projects in Vermont. The following list contains the names and addresses of organizations which have been useful in developing background materials for Visual Analyses.

Agency of Natural Resources
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, VT
(802) 241-3636

Agency of Transportation, Planning Division
133 State Street
Montpelier, VT
(802) 828-2667

Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, VT
(802) 241-3650

Division for Historic Preservation
109 State Street
Montpelier, VT
(802) 828-2291
contact: Jane Lendway

National Main Street Center
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
contact: Cuffy Sullivan

Northern Vermont Development Association (NVDA)
Regional Planning Commission
St. Johnsbury, VT
(802) 748-5181
contact: Joel Schwartz

Vermont Design Institute
Norwich University
Northfield, VT
(802) 485-2620

Scenery Preservation Council
Agency of Transportation
Montpelier, VT
(802) 828-2600
contact: Rick Carbin

Vermont Downtown Program,
Preservation Trust of Vermont
Church Street
Burlington, VT
contact: Paul Bruhn

Map Sources: Microdata, St. Johnsbury (GIS Maps)
EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports)
South Burlington, VT
Northern Cartographic (Contour Maps)
Burlington, VT
NVDA (Northern VT Development Association)
St. Johnsbury, VT

The following is a list of potential funding sources for community development projects in Vermont, several of which were used for the Barton Visual Analysis (1996).

Agency of Natural Resources
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Waterbury, VT 05676

Agency of Transportation
Enhancement Grants (ISTEA)
(Cultural, historic, and multi-modal improvements)
Montpelier, VT 05602

Bristol-Myers Squibb
contact: UVM Extension System
(802) 525-4340

Economic Development, Public Works and Dev.
Public Works Division, Economic Dev. Admin.
Dept. Of Commerce, Herbert C. Hoover Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20230
(202) 482-5265

McConnell Grant
Sustainable Rural Development Project
UVM Extension
601 Main Street, UVM
Burlington, VT 05405
(802) 656-2980

Turner Foundation
contact: UVM Extension System

Twenty-First Century Foundation Grants
100 East 85th Street
NY, NY 10028
(212) 249-3612

Vermont Community Development Program (VCDP)
Agency of Development and Community Affairs
Montpelier, VT 05602
contact: Joss Besse

Vermont Community Foundation
PO Box 30
Middlebury, VT 05753
(802) 462-3355

Step I. The first step in analyzing a place in terms of its visual qualities requires gathering background information. Research in the following areas would provide a good basis for a visual analysis: the natural resources of the area, the built environment, demography, historical and present-day settlement patterns, and planning, zoning, and sub-division bylaws. An inventory of natural resources of the area can most likely be conducted using topographic and other maps. These are available through regional planning commissions or cartographic services.

Town planning, historical, and road maps with some detail of buildings will provide information about the built environment. Historical and present-day settlement patterns may be found in gazetteers, books on the place's history, and the local historical society. Demography including socio-economic information can be gathered from the U.S. Census. Finally, planning, zoning, and sub-division bylaws can be obtained at the town clerk's office. One last piece of information to gather is the types and levels of community activism present in the community. These can be identified through networking with the town, school, or other municipal officials and town leaders and will be the means of understanding the critical issues the town is struggling with.

Step II. Public meetings, such as neighborhood planning association meetings, with the purpose of identifying goals for the future of the community should be held. Focus groups, the nominal group process, or initiatives like Take Charge may be useful to generate ideas. Begin by brainstorming a wide variety of goals and aspirations in order to increase the possibilities for positive changes. It's easier to improvise and sometimes more efficient to utilize resources for multiple projects than to have to start from square one for every project. On the other hand, be wary of aspiring to too many or unrealistic goals. If available a Town Plan can be used to add another dimension to the community's goals.

Step III. The next step is to conduct a photographic survey of the village or place. If there is not enough funding or time for completing the survey on your own, you may want to explore employing the help of high school or other photography students as well as community members. Focus on taking pictures of areas identified by the community as problem areas as well as areas of particular interest such as a favorite tree, building, or shortcut. Be attentive to other relevant details that may not have been pointed out by the community as well as to the overall feel of the place. The survey should speak to both the specific details that may need improvement and to those details that may be used as examples to follow. It should also include larger scale, overall pictures such as streetscapes and panoramas. For example the photographic survey could include primary roads as well as typical side streets, entryways to the place, key project areas, notable natural features, and vistas. It is also useful to gather any historic photographs for comparison or contrast and for examples which suggest a sense of legacy.

Step IV. Organize the photographic survey material including any historic photos or pictures. It may be helpful to arrange them by laying them out on a board in relation to a map of the area or village in question. This step will help identify the photographs and their relevance to the Visual Analysis.

Step V. At this point, the main problem areas have probably identified themselves. If not, you should compare the community's goals to the photographic survey and other information which has been gathered to identify the problem areas. It is important to organize them as to whether they are perceived or real problems, and then to clarify them. Additional data gathering may be necessary to assess the actual needs, and potential conflicts, etc. A survey asking residents or interested parties about a specific issue may help identify all of its aspects, existing conflicts of interests, and potential or actual needs.

Step VI. Using the maps gathered for the background research, the photos from the survey, and if necessary blank boards, create a visual presentation which illustrates the problems and shows solutions. The presentation may include maps which show existing situations with overlays illustrating the proposed changes, drawings of solutions, or models of a recommended plan. By identifying and vocalizing the problems and recommendations through written and pictorial materials, a plan is more apt to be understood and accepted. It is crucial to keep in mind the whole town when making recommendations. The recommendations should be considered in terms of their aesthetics and their usefulness to a variety of people at all times of the year.

Step VII. The final step in the process of a visual analysis is the public presentation of the work. Hold a preliminary presentation of the solutions using the display boards to gather feedback from the public. Revise the presentation materials according to the public's input and submit the final recommendations to the community for their use.

The Visual Analysis process is about redefining livability. It is about unearthing local community needs and desires, and developing aesthetically pleasing, long-term solutions to these issues. It is an opportunity to think about the natural, built, and human history of the area, then to recognize the highlights of social and economic development and to identify future goals for the community, and finally to propose long-term physical solutions that will improve the health and livability of the area in question. The complex issues of transportation, affordable housing, economic development, and environmental impact are addressed in a Visual Analysis. These issues should become an inherent aspect of the background research (i.e. in the physical geography, demography, maps, photographic survey, etc.). The strengths of the Visual Analysis are its roots in the physical and cultural assets of the community and that it builds from a community’s vision.