Massachusetts

The Boston Globe discovers that midsize towns across Massachusetts are ditching the mall and revitalizing their downtowns.

January 25, 2011 - The Boston Globe

This piece from Next American City looks at plans to dramatically rework streetscapes in Boston, and cheers the effort.

January 19, 2011 - Next American City

While Planned Parenthood isn't even currently considering an office in Gardner, Mass., opponents of the nonprofit have petitioned the Planning Board to create zoning limitations that would exclude them from opening up shop.

January 12, 2011 - Telegram & Gazette

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020, Massachusetts hopes to tap federal funds to help enact a 'Pay As You Drive' auto insurance program to reduce transportation emissions.

December 30, 2010 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

Getting the City of Boston to pick up the tab for maintenance and repair of certain alleyways has proved frustrating for residents of the city's South End, due to high costs and restrictions associated with transferring ownership rights to the city.

November 8, 2010 - The Boston Globe

"Landscape Urbanism," a school of thought that argues that landscape and natural forms are more capable of shaping cities than architecture, is gaining ground in the U.S. Andrés Duany reports that to his dismay, it's also taking over Harvard.

November 4, 2010 - Metropolis Magazine

Aerotropolises are cities that develop around airports into vibrant centers of business and residences. The Boston area had a chance to make one, but the city and state missed out, according to this column.

November 3, 2010 - The Boston Globe

The new 23-acre Seaport Square in the South Boston waterfront district will bring a mix of uses and ample parkland to a former railroad property.

October 19, 2010 - The Architect's Newspaper

English architect Ben Hamilton-Baillie sees possibility in a section of Harvard Square that has all the qualities of a "woonerf"; mainly, that cars, bikes and pedestrians all share the street equally.

October 15, 2010 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy blog

A controversial $2.5 B wind farm planned off the shores of Cape Cod is touted by supporters as a way to jumpstart the state's green economy. Beth Daley argues the project was rushed to the drawing board despite not making economic sense.

October 14, 2010 - The Boston Globe

In Lowell, Massachusetts, planner Jeff Speck painted a picture for locals of a transformed city that capitalizes on the strengths of the city to move forward with a greater vision.

October 4, 2010 - The Lowell Sun

The Town of Kingston, Massachusetts won a lawsuit this week, filed over whether land around the town's commuter rail station was properly rezoned -- but lost the promised developer and a state grant for smart growth in the process.

September 24, 2010 - The Patriot Ledger

In an effort to create a more diverse retail base and fill empty units retailers from an International Conference of Shopping Centers were guided through Downtown Crossing, The Rose Kennedy Greenway and South Boston Waterfront.

July 16, 2010 - Boston Herald

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.

July 2, 2010 - The Boston Globe

Planners in Acton, Massachusetts used Second Life as a pr and outreach tool to engage citizens in planning a key commercial area.

June 22, 2010 - Cornerstones Blog

Causeway Street, formed by the Big Dig in Boston, is in the plans as a vibrant new center of streetlife. With the Big Dig construction long over, planners say now is the time.

June 14, 2010 - The Boston Globe

A new 21-page report evaluates the efforts of ID, NH, MA, MN, OR, and VT to raise state fuel taxes from 2006-2009. Why did only two succeed? This analysis looks only at how the debates were played out in print media in each of the states.

June 7, 2010 - University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

"Participatory Chinatown" is a computer game designed to increase public participation in the planning process in Boston.

May 7, 2010 - The Boston Globe

The Boston Redevelopment Authority is looking to inject some life back into the area surrounding the relatively empty park atop the city's infamous Big Dig.

May 6, 2010 - The Architect's Newspaper

Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway is an urban park built over the "Big Dig" highway tunnel, and as Robert Campbell of the Boston Globe puts it, "a design disaster."

May 3, 2010 - Project for Public Spaces blog