With Harvard's plan to build a Renzo Piano-designed art museum rejected, the university took a new tack and built student housing, a park and an underground parking garage -- a "satisfying outcome", says Anthony Flint.
The site is the old Mahoney's garden center site on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. The Renzo Piano plan was so unpopular that locals threatened to bomb it if it was built. Flint says that the opposition's point was valid: "was this really the best place to put an art museum?" And Renzo Piano ended up still being part of the plan, with a renovation to the nearby Sackler Museum.
Pictures at Anthony Flint's new Boston Globe blog, This Land.
FULL STORY: After battle, park at Harvard site manages to please
Cambridge Passes Zoning Reform
Developers can now build housing of up to six stories in the Massachusetts city.
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.
Parking Requirements Eliminated in Cambridge, Massachusetts
A major zoning amendment was approved by the Cambridge City Council on Monday, October 24, 2022.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
Tiny House Villages for Addressing Homelessness: An Interview with Yetimoni Kpeebi
One researcher's perspective on the potential of tiny homes and owner-built housing as one tool to fight the housing crisis.
A Plan to Expand Tree Canopy Across Dayton
Dayton is developing an urban forest master plan, using a $2 million grant to expand its tree canopy, address decades of tree loss, and enhance environmental equity across the city.
Decarbonizing Homes: The Case for Electrifying Residential Heating
A new MIT study finds that transitioning residential heating from natural gas to electric heat pumps can significantly reduce carbon emissions and operational costs.
Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research