Massachusetts
Land Trusts Preserve Affordability, but for Whom?
An analysis of buildings bought by the city for a community land trust in Boston reveals that many prior residents were evicted just before the sales.
Boston Transit Board Approves Low-Income Fare, but Funding is Unclear
The board voted to include the T’s on-demand paratransit service in the discount program, prompting concerns about cost.
Boston Gets a New Planning Department
After 67 years since its formation, the Boston Planning and Development Agency is no more.
Boston Moves Zoning Reform Forward
The ‘Squares + Streets’ plan creates form-based zoning templates for neighborhoods that promote mixed use and denser housing near transit.
Storm Erases $500,000 Massachusetts Sand Dune
A protective dune built with funds from city residents lasted just three days before being washed away in a storm.
Boston’s Blue Hill Avenue to Get BRT, Safety Improvements
The key bus corridor serves over 37,000 bus riders daily.
What Is Cambridge’s Affordable Housing Overlay?
A controversial policy is helping create more affordable housing units in the Massachusetts city, but fears of overwhelming density are likely unfounded.
Poor Road Quality Leading to Higher Gas Use
Commuters in Massachusetts communities with worse roads use more gas, with the costs disproportionately impacting low-income households.
Cape Cod Water Quality Threatened by Septic Runoff
Pollutants from local septic tanks are creating problematic algae blooms in local waters. Cleaning it all up could cost billions.
Geothermal Network Project To Benefit Boston Public Housing
A pilot program seeks to be a model for electrifying groups of buildings or entire neighborhoods.
States 'Switching Tracks' to Avoid Public Transit Fiscal Cliff
The influx of federal emergency money used to keep public transit operational during the COVID pandemic will end this year. States and transit agencies across the country are searching for alternative funding sources.
Which Cities and States Will Join the “Mansion Tax” Club Next?
Higher taxes on high-value property sales are being considered in Chicago, Connecticut, and Washington state as a way to address the housing crisis.
Boston Cap Park Closer to Reality
The proposed Dorchester Greenway would create a new linear park above part of the Red Line subway.
Boston Zoning Commission to Consider ‘Squares and Streets’ Plan
The proposal would reduce barriers to the development of denser housing.
Massachusetts State Budget Funds Free Transit Programs
The transportation budget allocates at least $15 million to new and existing fare-free bus transit programs.
Massachusetts Moves Toward Decarbonization
The state developed a framework for planning to phase out natural gas, denying industry calls to allow hydrogen and renewable natural gas.
Newton Passes Upzoning to Comply With MBTA Communities Act
The Massachusetts city will permit multifamily housing in some of its ‘village centers’ to comply with state law.
Study Assesses Attitudes on Traffic Cameras in Boston’s Black Communities
Residents are wary of the new technology’s potential for surveillance, but support boosting enforcement while reducing interaction with police.
Report: How Outdated Zoning Rules Still Shape Boston
Classist and racist zoning decisions from decades past reverberate in today’s neighborhoods.
Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Awarded $16.4 Billion in Federal Funds
The funding will support track construction, bridge replacement, and other upgrades to make passenger train service faster and more reliable.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
