Massachusetts

New York Street

Guide to Improved Street Designs: Pay Attention to Precedent

What does a successfully multi-modal and livable street look like? There are examples all over the world, if you're paying attention.

April 25, 2016 - CityLab

Highway Living

More Evidence That Living Near Highways Is Bad for Your Health

The findings of a new study based in Boston offer evidence of negative health outcomes connected to the collision of residential land use and transportation infrastructure.

April 18, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Boston Working to Keep Construction Hiring Local and Diverse

The city of Boston is working to ensure that a diverse collection of residents are benefitting from the fruits of the city's current building boom.

April 13, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Wants to End Cash Payments

Boston is the latest of a growing number of cities that could end the use of cash to may for transit tickets. The change does not come without some concern for riders.

March 30, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Mixed Messages

Glaeser: Unleash the 'Free Genius of Urban Creativity'

Harvard Professor Edward Glaeser argues for the loosening of regulations that create barriers to entry for small businesses and immigrant entrepreneurship in Boston.

March 29, 2016 - NewBostonPost

Mattapan Trolley

Op-Ed: Save Boston's Mattapan Trolley

The MBTA is considering the future of a unique service: the Mattapan high-speed trolley line. Upkeep costs are high, but replacing the track with buses might be a shortsighted move.

March 14, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Rainy Biker

Report Ranks the Cities With the Most Active Commuters

A benchmarking report by the Alliance for Biking and Walking reveals Boston as the nation's leader in active commutes.

March 9, 2016 - Fast Co.Exist

Boston City Hall Plaza Overhaul Moves Forward

Boston has a plan to transform City Hall Plaza from a neglected opportunity into a year-round entertainment venue.

March 6, 2016 - The Boston Globe

New Hampshire Wants Commuter Rail to Boston

A strong coalition is pushing for a $4 million planning effort to lay the tracks for commuter rail between New Hampshire and Boston.

March 2, 2016 - New Hampshire Business Review

Boston T

Late-Night Transit Going Out of Service in Boston

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board voted to shut down late night transit service on the T this week, finding that ridership did not justify the cost of the long operation hours.

March 2, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Say it Ayn So! A Randian View of the Boston-Area's Housing Supply

The Boston-area's supply of urban housing is failing people starting their careers, writes an architect and fan of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead.

February 26, 2016 - UrbDeZine

Cheers

RIP: Boston Dive Bars (1630-2016)

A recent unofficial tally on Yelp found that 20 of the 70 Boston dive bars listed on the site had recently closed. The Boston Globe examines the trend.

February 19, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Are State Rebates Necessary for Electric Vehicle Sales?

Campaigners for the Sierra Club's electric vehicle initiative make the case that New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo needs to offer a state rebate of $2,000 to $4,000 to make EVs more attractive to car buyers now that he's phasing out coal power.

February 17, 2016 - Sierra Club Compass

Boston Seaport

GE and Industry's Return to the City

GE recently made the blockbuster decision to move its corporate headquarters to Boston. More than just another example of a company returning to an urban area, the move shows how a city like Boston benefits the kind of company GE wants to become.

February 16, 2016 - Rod Stevens

Massachusetts Considers Raising Its $1 Jaywalking Fine

There are a few reasons one should exercise caution while crossing the street illegally. In Massachusetts, fear of a fine is not one of them.

February 13, 2016 - CBS Boston

Boston Aerial

Digging Deeper Into the Deal That Brought GE to Boston

The big news about GE moving to Boston is more than just a story about a large company moving from the suburbs to the big city—it's also about how far cities will go to attract new jobs, and at what cost.

January 31, 2016 - The Boston Globe

GE Relocates HQ from Suburban Connecticut to Boston

GE is abandoning its 68-acre suburban campus in Fairfield, Conn. for Boston's Seaport District. As WBUR's technology reporter, Curt Nickisch put it, "Today's knowledge workers want bike racks and subway stops not country clubs and parking garages."

January 17, 2016 - NPR

Federal Regulators Fault Boston's Transit Maintenance Plan

With the memory of last winter's challenges still fresh, federal investigators gave less than stellar reviews to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in a report revealed this week.

January 4, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Ten Years Later: Evaluating the Big Dig

Ten years after the completion of the Central Artery and Tunnel project—or the Big Dig, as it's more commonly known—has the project become more justifiable?

December 30, 2015 - The Boston Globe

Order Up: Massachusetts Has a New Food System Plan

With economic, employment, and social benefits, food is much more than what we eat. Now Massachusetts has completed a comprehensive food plan in the hopes of doing better with the systems by which food is manufactured, bought, and consumed.

December 16, 2015 - Metropolitan Area Planning Council

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.