The Boston Planning & Development Agency released a powerful new map of the entire city—complete with layers like shadows, flood plains, and zoning districts—to the public.

Tim Logan reports on a new digital 3D map produced by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BDPA) that models the entire city.
The map is "the latest step in the BPDA’s push to be more transparent, and to spark conversations about planning for the city’s future," according to Logan. Previously, BDPA housed a wooden scale model on the ninth floor of City Hall. The new digital map is public, and the hope is that it will inspire the public to engage with the city's development in new ways.
The map maps 129,000 buildings from East Boston to Mottapan, explains Logan. "The map is pannable and scannable, and detailed enough to capture backyard sheds, rooftop furniture, and lots of trees. And it comes with tools that allow anyone to layer on zoning maps, schools, MBTA stops, and even flood-prone areas."
FULL STORY: You can see your home from here. A new 3D map covers the entire city

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

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Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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