Massachusetts
Commute Frustrations Boil Over in Massachusetts Poll
A recent poll of Massachusetts voters was able to connect the realities of the housing market to the frustrations of the daily commute.
Ending Rent Control Changed Everything in Massachusetts. What Happens If It Becomes Legal Again?
Two proposed bills would roll back a statewide prohibition on rent control in Massachusetts. The city of Cambridge, how of the anti-rent control movement in the state, is now a poster child for the housing crisis.
Scenario Planning Can Help Prepare for a Hard-to-Predict Future
Questions about the variables that could significantly alter the future of transportation, and the configuration of the public realm to accommodate those futuristic forms of transportation, illustrate the potential power of scenario planning.
New Bike Infrastructure Standard Set in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts has made a thorough commitment to building robust bike infrastructure with every street repair project.
Zoning Code Rewrite Paused in Newton, Massachusetts
The mayor of Newton says the city's planning department is stretched too thin, with several ordinances and large development proposals in the works.
Boston Reconsidering its Inclusionary Zoning Formula
Boston has set the same inclusionary zoning requirements for 19 years, and after a busy 2018, the city could be set to require even more affordable housing with each new development.
Zoning Reform Gets Another Try as Massachusetts Wrestles With Housing Crunch
Strong support for local control has made statewide legislation to address the housing affordability crisis difficult to approve in the Bay State.
Mapping the Microcosms of Segregation
A new analysis of inequality looks at where people go and how they spend their time.
A Twitter Account for Your Transit Mood
A Twitter account is broadcasting its findings about the mood of transit riders in Boston, in real time.
MBTA Will Move to Proof-of-Payment System
A new plan will phase out cash fare payments on buses and trolleys, but many of the details are still up in the air.
Will Boston Follow New York City and Consider Cordon Tolling?
Tom Acitelli has been following the intersection of congestion pricing and transportation in Boston, particularly as at affects transit. Noting the landmark agreement on cordon pricing reached in New York on Tuesday, he asks if Boston is ready.
A Sprinkle of Stores: Wrestling With Jacobs's Uncertainty
Jane Jacobs used vague terms to describe the number of stores necessary for a safe and vibrant streetscape. Here, author Fanis Grammenos attempts to discover a more specific number to attach to this prescription.
Boston Plans to Put $26 Million Toward Affordable Housing Projects
A new initiative will fund 10 new developments as the city works to increase available affordable housing.
Cambridge Won’t Reach Goals to Curb Car Ownership
The city’s original plan to decrease car ownership isn’t quite panning out, even with more alternative transportation options for residents.
The Artist of the Planning Department
The Boston area's Metropolitan Area Planning Council has an Artist-in-Residence Program that brings arts to the table as an integral component of the planning process.
Mapping Change – A New Interactive Tool for Boston
The latest example of the Internet's power to make deliver data and maps to the masses, produced by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
'Carbon Free Boston' Puts Priority on Land Use and Transportation Planning
"It's all about cars and houses," according to the Boston Globe.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo Proposes Plastic Bag Ban After Killing New York City's Bag Law
The Democratic governor proposed a ban on single-use plastic bags in his state-of-the-state address on Jan. 15. Nearly two years earlier, he signed a bill that prevented New York City from charging for bags as the District of Columbia and Boston do.
Transit Agency Chief to Propose Congestion Pricing for Los Angeles
Los Angeles Metro CEO Phil Washington will recommend to his board next Thursday that they pursue a congestion pricing program to reduce traffic congestion, improve transit, and subsidize transit fares in Los Angeles in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Boston to Add 194 Hybrid Buses
The MBTA will use local and FTA monies to bring in the new vehicles which will replace older diesel and hybrid buses aging out of their usable lifespan.
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
