We've been writing here about the cost and shortage of housing in Greater Boston for over a decade. This actually sounds like hopeful news: Aiming for the construction of 135,000 new housing units by 2025, the Baker administration on … [Read more...]
Can’t Solve Transportation Without Addressing Housing
Charley already wrote up WBUR's transportation poll, but WBUR did a sidebar story on some non-highway transportation ideas. Reporter Steve Brown talked to State Sen. Tom McGee about his idea to relieve traffic & help people get … [Read more...]
Governor candidates on transportation and smart growth
Transportation for Massachusetts and the MA Smart Growth Alliance asked the Democratic, Republican and Independent candidates for governor to respond to ten questions. The questions were submitted in late May, and received in June/July. … [Read more...]
Littleton & MassDOT Complete Streets Policies Win National Recognition
Congratulations to the town of Littleton and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, both of which have earned recognition from Smart Growth America for their complete streets policies. First: Exactly what are complete streets … [Read more...]
Outdated Liquor License Laws Are Strangling Our Downtowns
Do we want to revitalize downtowns, or do we want to severely restrict people from buying wine with dinner? Thanks to our still-Puritanical liquor license laws here in Massachusetts, opening a new restaurant is a major financial … [Read more...]
New Walking Safety Project Blamed for 40 Years of Car-Centric Decline
From wasting prime real estate by paving it over for parking to funding expensive road-widening projects, some communities are realizing that taking a step back from the car culture is good for business. But much like parts of Appalachia … [Read more...]
Smart growth, creative growth
The "quasi-public" Metropolitan Area Planning Council has released its plan for how to develop the Greater Boston area. (Hey, I didn't even know we had one of these groups in MA.) Sounds like standard smart-growth thinking: Mixed use, mass … [Read more...]
Arborway represents a way forward for Smart Growth
First the state allowed the project to languish. Then it wriggled through a substitution attempt that it finally admitted it couldn't win, because no substitute provided the real benefits the Green Line restoration did. And admirably, … [Read more...]
Assembly Square = on.
But because of the agreement, task force member Wig Zamore said, ``All the lawsuits are going away."I know this doesn't directly affect everyone who reads here, and I know that not everyone will have followed the details. But to … [Read more...]
Limiting Development
I live in Springfield, so I have a big problem with the conclusions brought forth in this article. The article says:Clay and other conservationists are quick to say they're not opposed to construction of new homes and businesses. They just … [Read more...]