Malden, Holyoke, Fitchburg, Chelsea, Peabody, and Lowell were selected for the latest round of support last week. Each city will receive a three-year economic development fellow who will provide on-the-ground expertise, leadership, and planning to help support small businesses, real estate development, and arts and culture projects.
Development
Posted inLocal Government
Everett’s new mayor inherits major development projects
Few cities have experienced the kind of growth Everett has seen in the last seven years. Now, further transformation of the city’s once-blighted Lower Broadway district will be overseen by newly elected mayor Robert Van Campen, who was inaugurated on January 5.
Posted inHousing
Boston’s broken land use system blocks the homes we desperately need
Rather than reflecting some sort of democratic ideal of local control, Boston’s process empowers those who already have housing to block housing for those who do not.
Posted inPolitics
How incoming mayor Robert Van Campen will write Everett’s next chapter
In a closely watched upset, City Councilor Robert Van Campen beat DeMaria by 9 percentage points. His promise to restore trust and accountability in City Hall wasn’t hard to sell. But Van Campen has a tough act to follow, despite DeMaria’s scandals.
Posted inHousing
The new Seaport District? Restoration of Lynn’s waterfront has developers closing in on city’s South Harbor
The waterfront is one of Lynn’s major attractions and has been a key part of the city’s ongoing growth and economic revitalization plans. But affordable housing advocates have raised concerns about the kind of development that Harbor Park has attracted – comparing the South Harbor to Boston’s wealthy Seaport District.
Posted inHousing
‘Easier said than done’: Former mill cities struggle to rehab vacant, blighted properties in Western Mass.
In recent decades, historic mills and old industrial buildings in Gateway Cities across the state have been renovated and converted into much-needed housing. But while Eastern Massachusetts cities have had success, cities farther west with weaker housing markets still struggle with an array of blighted properties that have yet to be developed.
Posted inOpinion
Abundance with input: We can build housing and energy systems without ignoring community concerns
Collaborative processes structured to include the needs and expertise of citizens can lead to sustainable and effective outcomes when paired with clear policy goals, firm process constraints, and effective leadership. 
Posted inOpinion
A game plan for the new hybrid work reality
Boston provides an illustrative example of this principle. Characterized by a greater mix of office, residential, dining, and retail uses, the Back Bay and Seaport neighborhoods feel more vibrant than the Financial District, with its preponderance of office towers.
Posted inOpinion
A travesty in Manchester by the Sea
The battle brewing at Shingle Place Hill in Manchester by the Sea is a paradigm for what affects cities and towns across the Commonwealth.
Posted inOpinion
Planning by pieces isn’t working in Charlestown
IN THE FIELD of urban planning, a master plan is a document and policy guide designed to help communities create a vision of what they want to look like in […]
Posted inOpinion
Real work starting now at Pier 5
THE BOSTON PLANNING and Development Agency’s decision to reject the three proposals advanced for privatization of Pier 5 in Charlestown is welcome news, but now the real work begins. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Building a city center serving six cities
QUICK QUIZ: What is the biggest growth district in Massachusetts outside of the city of Boston right now? Did you guess Kendall Square? Cambridge Crossing? Somerville’s Union Square? Watertown’s Arsenal […]
Posted inEconomy
Depoliticizing the development process in Boston
CALLS TO ABOLISH the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) go back almost to its creation. City Councilor Michelle Wu is the latest to take up the quest to rid […]
Posted inTransportation
In Newton, a super Tuesday for pro-growth side
ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL, and for some residents in Newton that meant yesterday’s Super Tuesday vote in the presidential primary took a backseat to a question of what would happen in […]
Posted inThe Download
In Newton, a super Tuesday for pro-growth side
All politics is local, and for some residents in Newton that meant yesterday’s Super Tuesday vote in the presidential primary took a backseat to a question of what would happen […]
Posted inTransportation
Moving on from car-as-king development
THE DESIGN DILEMMA for America’s current generation of city builders is what to do about cars, and in particular parking. Our most beloved places were built before cars became the […]
Posted inOpinion
Where should new housing go?
GREATER BOSTON has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and not nearly enough housing. Where should new housing go to accommodate so many people?  To understand our region’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Mystic + Malden: A development case study
GREATER BOSTON is adding jobs and population, but not enough housing and too much traffic. How do we accommodate development to improve our lives? A proving ground for aspiring city […]
Posted inOpinion
Building connectedness with star power
FOR A COUPLE OF DECADES, planners, environmentalists, and housing advocates have been singing the praises of transit oriented development (TOD) because mixed-use development by public transportation is good for the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
The Hub: An impressive front door to Garden, N. Station
NOT LONG AGO, attending a game at TD Garden or taking a train out of North Station meant you would need to come and go through a nondescript side door. […]
Posted inThe Download
Seaport: Boondoggle or model for future?
Is the glass half full or half empty? The biggest Boston building boom in decades has been playing out in the city’s Seaport, a once forlorn 1,000-acre stretch of warehouses […]