Boston's New Mayor Wants to End Old Urban Renewal Districts

Michelle Wu, Boston's new mayor, is ready to finally end the government powers that displaced communities in the mid-20th century.

1 minute read

March 15, 2022, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


A historoci image of West End Boston, cleared completely of buildings to make way for a massive urban renewal program that would include the city's present-day City Hall.

The West End urban renewal project area in Boston, circa 1959-1964. | Urban Redevelopment Division, Boston Housing Authority / Wikimedia Commons

In February, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu asked the City Council to end five of the city’s 14 active urban renewal plan areas, "with the goal of winding down all of the plans by the end of this year," reports Catherine Carlock for the Boston Globe.

"A powerful urban development tool granted to the then-Boston Redevelopment Authority in the late 1950s, urban renewal has been the city’s primary mechanism to take so-called 'blighted' property by eminent domain, and was key to the wholesale razing of the West End, Scollay Square, and parts of the South End and Roxbury in the 1950s and ′60s," explains Carlock.

Mayor Wu wrote a letter to the City Council explaining the rationale behind the request to end the city's urban renewal districts—connecting the contemporary urban renewal districts to their history as tools of displacement through "slum clearance" and other methods of a previous era of planning. "My administration is committed to putting equity at the forefront of planning and development decisions and the sunsetting of urban renewal in Boston should be viewed through this lens," wrote Wu in the letter.

As noted by Carlock, Wu campaigned on the issue of sunsetting the city's urban renewal districts, along with other larger structural reforms for the Boston Planning and Development Agency, so stay tuned for more reform developments.

Monday, February 28, 2022 in The Boston Globe

View down New York City alleyway at nighttime

Red Cities, Blue Cities, and Crime

Homicides rose across the nation in 2020 and 2021. But did they rise equally in all cities, or was the situation worse in some than in others?

March 12, 2023 - Michael Lewyn

babyt Boomer Homeowners

The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?

In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.

March 12, 2023 - PlaceShakers and NewsMakers

Yellow on black "Expect Delays" traffic sign

A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts

Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.

March 14, 2023 - Todd Litman

Washington D.C. Protest

IPCC Report: The World Is Running Out of Time on Climate Change

The planet is not doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent report published by the United Nations’ International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

March 20 - International Panel on Climate Change

A view of the Boise skyline, across tress int he foreground. The state capitol is visible amongst other office buildings.

Skyline-Defining High-Rise Potentially Coming to Boise

A rendering making the rounds in Boise depicts a 40-story apartment building that would be taller than all other buildings in one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

March 20 - Boise Dev

Interior of Tesla car with driver holding hands off wheel in 'full self-driving' mode

Buttigieg: Tesla ‘Autopilot’ Marketing ‘A Concern’

The USDOT secretary says marketing doesn’t fall under his department’s investigative authority, but expressed disapproval of language that implies autonomous operation.

March 20 - Bloomberg

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.