Aerotropolises are cities that develop around airports into vibrant centers of business and residences. The Boston area had a chance to make one, but the city and state missed out, according to this column.
Peter Canellos writes that the state's refusal to build a new major airport 20 years ago caused it to miss out on an opportunity to grow an entirely new business hub.
"Massachusetts does not have an aerotropolis. When confronted with the opportunity to lay the groundwork for a second major airport, 20 years ago, the state passed it up. It was, in the eyes of some economists, a big mistake, the kind that separates the truly global metropolises from the boutique cities.
The reasons were, to a large extent, the usual ones in Massachusetts. Hubris - the sense among many policy makers that economic growth was inevitable, a force to be channeled and, if necessary, limited, rather than given any special encouragement. Local resistance - the belief that any change would harm the quality of life rather than enhance it. And short-sightedness - a sense that transportation was meant to serve those already living here, rather than to be a magnet to attract more."
Read the full story: Aerotropolis
Boston is hard to build housing in: its chief of planning wants to keep it that way
Chief of Planning Kairos Shen said she would not make changes to Boston’s affordability requirements for new housing, which critics say have slowed down development.
Learning loss and urban schools, part 2
Did test scores in progressive cities drop more post-COVID than test scores in moderate ones?
Boston to study congestion pricing in NYC
Mayor Michelle Wu said she was sending a delegation to NYC to understand congestion pricing's impact on the city.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority