mapc's sustainable communities regional planning grant project posters

495/MetroWest Development Compact

Plan

MAPC worked with the Patrick

Administration and partners to

engage the region’s cities and towns,

residents, and public and private

sector organizations to develop a

comprehensive land use and

development plan. The plan:

• Establishes community-based priorities along the

I-495 corridor;

• Integrates those priorities into regional and state

development and preservation plans; and

• Provides a direction for public investments that

conserve the intrinsic qualities of the corridor

while capitalizing on its economic strengths.

Outcomes and Related Work• Identification of local,

regional, and state priority locations for future development and preservation

• Local zoning and regulatory updates in Regional Priority Development Areas in Millis, Bolton, and Medway

• State agencies are directing investments to identified priority areas

• Priority area mapping continues in North Suburban and Metro North regions

60 Temple Place | Boston, MA 01112 | 617.933.0700

The 495/MetroWest Development Compact provides a shared framework for state, regional, and local strategies for development and land preservation as well as transportation and other infrastructure investments for 37 municipalities in and around the MetroWest region.

Funding provided by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and the Metro Boston Consortium for Sustainable Communities with a grant from US HUD

OUTREACH and

PLANNINGin Quincy’s Asian

Communit ies

MAPC WORKED WITH THE

CITY OF QUINCY AND THE ASIAN

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

CORPORATION to assess community needs, develop an

Asian Community Engagement Task Force, and launch a

Community PlanIt workshop in Quincy. The effort engaged the

Asian community in planning activities and city affairs.

Outcomes:

• Renewed the city’s focus on transit-oriented development

opportunities around the Wollaston T station.

• Improved data analysis for other city housing and planning

efforts, including programming of federal Community

Development Block Grant and HOME funds.

• Efforts led to the creation of a city Asian American Civic

Engagement Task Force.

60 Temple Place Boston, MA 02111 | 617.933.0700

A civic engagement and outreach strategy will help the city to identify local

leaders,build capacity to effectively engage in the

planning process, and ensure that the Asian American voice is included in development

activities.

Funding provided by the MetroBoston Consortium for Sustainable Communitieswith a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

PLANNINGNETWORK

PEDESTRIAN & BICYCLE

MAPC WORKED WITH 13 COMMUNITIES

ON FOUR “CLUSTER” PLANS

This effort encourages the implementation of pedestrian and

bicycle accommodation at the local level and to create

networks for safe non-vehicular travel.

Rather than small-scale planning of individual

neighborhoods, large-scale planning of “clusters” of multiple

communities allows for greater regional impacts, establishing

regional priorities, and a significant increase in potential

users.

An additional goal of the planning effort was to provide safe

access to major pedestrian and bicycle destinations,

including the Assabet River Rail Trail, the Dedham Rail Trail,

and the Northern Strand Community Trail. Access to major

employment centers, local schools, and parks were also

prioritized.

Outcomes• 5 miles of bicycle lanes installed, and

135 additional miles planned

• Bicycle lanes added to local roadways

in Hudson, Revere, and Quincy

• Short-term, low cost plans finalized for

13 MAPC communities

• Plans encouraged communities to look

beyond community borders and work

with neighboring communities to

implement bicycle and pedestrian

facilities and improvements

• Better access to schools, parks,

downtowns, residential and office areas

• Communities now more aware of the

importance of providing safe options for

non-vehicular travel


Funding provided by the MetroBoston Consortium for Sustainable Communities with a grant from US HUD

Quincy

Hudson

Stow

Maynard

Marlborough

ChelseaEverett

Revere

Malden

Saugus

Lynn

Dedham

Westwood

BOLTONMixed Use

Village OverlayBolton Zoning Working Group

We can do better

at the interchange of I-495 and MA Route 117 than big box retail and huge

signs”


Current Zoning Illustrative Site Layout

Mixed Use Illustrative Site Layout

Mixed Use Illustrative Street View

Existing Zoning Illustrative Street View

Outcome: Village Mixed Use Overlay Zoning passed unanimously at Town Meeting on May 5

MAPC USED SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FUNDS TO HELP BOLTON VISUALIZE what might be built if the town adopted the draft Mixed Use Village Overlay.

Renderings of what development could look like under the existing zoning contrasted sharply with what would be possible utilizing the Overlay.

Current Zoning (above): one building per lot, mixed use not permitted, set parking requirements

Overlay Zoning (below): Multiple buildings per lot, mix of uses allowed, housing is mandatory; reduced setbacks, flexible parking requirements,10% lot coverage


DRAW 7

DRAWING A VISIONf o r

GROUNDWORK SOMERVILLE WORKED

WITH MAPC, UEP STUDENTS FROM TUFTS,

AND MANY MYSTIC RIVER COMMUNITIES

AND ORGANIZATIONS to develop a comprehensive set

of recommendations for the redesign of Draw 7 Park. The

recommendations were based on community input, and were

focused on racial and health equity.

The team engaged residents from Somerville, Medford, Malden,

Everett, and Charlestown through interviews, community meetings,

interactive mapping, and online surveys to generate a plan

representing the public’s values, needs and wishes for the future of

Draw 7. Ideas ranged from an urban wild to a turf sports complex

with a retractable dome. The ultimate recommendations help serve

the region’s needs and wants, and improve on Draw 7’s existing

potential without eliminating the wild character held dear by many.

Outcomes:

• Design for a revitalized Draw 7 Park

presented to and approved by DCR

• Walk to the River Route mapped out

from Sullivan Station to the Park

• Increased attention on an underutilized

area, soon to be a regional focus at

Assembly Square

• Continuing collaboration between

Groundwork, MAPC, City of Somerville

and DCR to fund construction drawings

and make the project shovel ready


Park User Interviews

“It’s not pretty, but it’s peaceful.”


PARK

“Always like a family; everyone knows each other.”

“A diamond in the rough.”

PLANDOWNTOWN

MALDEN

MAPC DEVELOPED A COLLECTION OF

CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT “RECIPES”

that support and guide stakeholders through the

planning and implementation process, using best

practices, case studies and model documentation,

and that are tailored to small cities and towns.

The Toolkit content draws from MAPC’s local

energy planning and technical assistance

experience, as well as success stories from across

the country.

The “recipes” include step-by-step instructions,

prerequisite “ingredients,” and cover renewable

energy and energy efficiency strategies for

residential, commercial, and municipal sectors.

OUTCOME:

38 Toolkit “recipes,” including infrastructure projects such as community solar and energy efficiency retrofits, behavior-based education programs, and financing strategies. The toolkit has already been viewed multiple times: web traffic on the MAPC Clean Energy page has increased 56% since the Toolkit was made available.



Education & Outreach

Efficiency in Municipal Buildings

Funding Sources & Financing Mechanisms

Staffing & Volunteers

Municipal Light Plants

Municipal Renewable Energy Supply Contracts

Municipal Procurement

Planning for Energy Action

Clean Energy 101

FAIR HOUSING TOOLKIT

MAPC WORKED WITH THE FAIR HOUSING CAUCUS AND A CONSULTANT TO DEVELOP A FAIR HOUSING TOOLKIT to bring together available resources to help appointed and elected leaders, municipal planning, housing and development officials, developers, citizen board members, and other volunteers understand how to affirmatively further fair housing. The toolkit includes information on: Civic Engagement; Master Plans and Assessment of Fair Housing; Zoning to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing; Affirmative Marketing; Disparate Impact; Language Assessment and Services; Accessibility for People with Disabilities: Zoning for Group Homes; Increasing Accessible Housing through Visitability and Design Standards; Accessibility for People with Disabilities: Scoping and Coverage; and Fair Housing Resources. The Toolkit also provides: Fair Housing Case Law; Relevant Fair Housing Terms; and Fair Housing Laws, Regulations and Executive Orders.

OUTCOMES:1. Created fair housing training curriculum for municipal

officials and developers. 2. Provided trainings for professional planners, citizen planners,

and housing officials, including the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative Conference and the Massachusetts Housing Institute.

3. Shared toolkit information during development of a Fair Housing Plan for the South Shore HOME Consortium.

4. Working with the MA Department of Housing and Community Development to provide a half-day training in Fall 2014.



Coming summer 2015…Boston’s newest GreenwayMAPC worked with the 10 member

Fairmount Greenway Trask Force

(FGTF) on creating an implementation

plan for the neighborway + doing

visioning for new types of open space.

Accomplishments

• Selected five priority parcels

• Identified long-term ownership strategies for the Fairmont Greenway parcels

• Completed schematic designs for the food forest on Washington St in Four Corners

• Finalized the Fairmount Greenway route alignment

• Finished Implementation Plan for the Fairmount Greenway neighborway pilot segments

• Installing signs + sharrows with the City of Boston, summer 2015

• Received designation for two parcels

60 Temple Place | Boston, MA 02111 | 617.933.0700


Fairmount Greenway Task Force Members

•02136 All Things Hyde Park

•Boston Natural Areas Network

•Codman Square NDC•Dorchester Bay EDC•Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative

•Greater Four Corners Action Coalition

•Mattapan Food + Fitness Coalition

•Project RIGHT •Quincy Geneva Housing Corporation

•Southwest Boston CDC

Ballou Pilot Segment (Dorchester)

Bike Tour (2013)

Planting day (Mattapan)

Priority Parcel (Dorchester)

Community Garden (Mattapan)

FAIRHOUSING and

EQUITYASSESSMENT

f o r M e t r o p o l i t a n B o s t o n

MAPC WORKED WITH THE

CITIZENS’ HOUSING AND PLANNING

ASSOCIATION AND A REGIONAL

HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEEto develop a Fair Housing and Equity Assessment for

Metropolitan Boston. The Regional Housing Plan provided

a detailed housing and demographic profile of the MAPC

region, describing the current and emerging residential

landscape and the factors that have influenced it. The

FHEA focuses on how these demographic shifts and

changing housing patterns have affected – and are likely to

affect – classes of people protected by civil rights laws.

Early Outcomes:

• Coordination and outreach with the

Massachusetts Department of Housing

and Community Development (DHCD)

on a fair housing forum for fall 2014.

• MAPC representation on the

Opportunity Areas Working Group

convened by DHCD

• Creation and early dissemination of a

model Fair Housing Toolkit

• Completion of a Fair Housing Plan for

the South Shore HOME Consortium

which includes the city of Quincy and

the towns of Braintree, Holbrook, Milton,

and Weymouth.


Lisa Sturtevant, PhD, Executive Director Center for Housing Policy,

National Housing Conference

There is so much interest in howregions are successfully implementing Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

strategies, MAPC’s information and voice on this topic is incredibly timely.

Funding provided by the MetroBoston Consortium for Sustainable Communitieswith a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

ILEADInst i tute on

Leadership in

Equity &

Development

What came of it?

155 participants trained

5 Place Based Trainings

7 Host Organizations

2 Trainings of Trainers

6 Different Languages

Best of all people felt

welcomed, heard &

empowered!


ILEAD Participant

“It was fun! I learned a lot, met people in my

neighborhood and feel like I know more about planning in

my community.”


Have you ever sat down with your neighbors to discuss issues of equity, how local planning is done and how

you can get the most out of development in your City or Town?

Well…people in Dorchester, Lynn, Quincy, Roxbury & Somerville did!

The Institute on Leadership in Equity and Development

(ILEAD) is a training that educates potential and existing

leaders in communities traditionally underserved by

planning on sustainable and equitable development. The

interactive sessions and activities equip people with the

tools needed to become powerful advocates within their

community.

The City of Chelsea, Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), Charles River Watershed Association, and Chelsea Collaborative partnered to develop recommendations, conceptual designs, and community support for environmental improvements in a neighborhood in Chelsea, a densely developed and highly impervious Metro Boston community.

• Identification of opportunities to incorporate low impact development (LID) stormwater treatment systems at six sites

• Conceptual designs and modeled environmental improvements for all sites

• Multiple sites submitted for grant funding

MYSTICGreen Inf rast ructure

Project

Outcomes:

60 Temple Place | Boston, MA 02111 617.933.0700


ExistingConditions

Analysis

Community Involvement

OpportunitiesAnalysis

Purpose:

Conceptual Design, Visualization, Recommendations

PLANDOWNTOWN

MALDEN

MAPC WORKED WITH THE HARVARD

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND

THE CITY OF MALDENto develop a blueprint for action to revitalize downtown

Malden and to assess the feasibility of a Chapter 40R

smart growth housing district. A central focus of the plan

included the relocation of the current City Hall and the

redevelopment of the Government Center site,

reconnecting a main commercial corridor to the Orange

Line station.

Harvard GSD students engaged over 1,000 residents and

visitors, through a variety of innovative techniques,

to gather ideas for the future of downtown. MAPC

conducted the 40R study and outlined implementation

steps for realizing the downtown plan.

Outcomes• Developer selected through RFP

process for Government Center

redevelopment

• $3 million MassWorks award from

EOHED to demolish City Hall, setting

the stage for mixed-use project that

includes up to 500 new residential units

• Malden has installed dozens of

wayfinding signs, with artwork from

Malden-born painter, Frank Stella

• The Redevelopment Authority will

conduct a parking study to develop

strategies for how parking can support

the broader downtown revitalization


Kevin DuffyStrategy and Business Development Officer

City of Malden

We received lots of feedbackto help guide us in our decisions to renovate

the Square and were able to develop a transformational plan of attack.


PLANNINGand

ZONINGMil l is Vi l lage

MAPC WORKED WITH THE TOWN OF MILLIS

MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE TO: • undertake a market analysis for alternative future

uses for the town center,

• determine what elements of the existing zoning

were impediments to redevelopment opportunities,

• host a town-wide forum to provide information and

to seek feedback on the future of the village center,

• prepare visualizations of potential development

that would be possible under alternative zoning,

and

• prepare new zoning that addressed town goals

and market issues for submittal to Town Meeting,

which approved the new zoning 5/12/14.


We received lots of feedbackto help guide us in our decisions to renovate

the Square and were able to develop a transformational plan of attack.


1990 2000 20100%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

9% 8% 6%

17% 19%19%

8% 5% 6%

41%

34%

24%

18%

25%

34%

8% 9% 12%

Millis: Population Share by Age 1990, 2000, 2010

65 Plus

45-64

25-44

18-24

5-17

Under 5 yrs

Source: U.S. Census.

Table 14: Retail Gap Analysis Summary

Millis Town Center, ½-mile radius 2-mile radius 5-mile radius

Convenience Goods, Food

Surplus in grocery stores, beer & wine, pharmacy, and florists. Leakage in specialty foods, cosmetics, optical, and other health & personal care.

Surplus in food & beverage (except specialty foods), and florists. Leakage in health & personal care, and specialty foods.

Leakage in supermarkets, florists, cosmetics & optical.Surplus in specialty food, beer & wine, and pharmacies.

Entertainment (Restaurants, bars)

Surplus of full service restaurants.Leakage in limited service restaurants and drinking establishments.

Similar to Millis Town Center.

Leakage in all types of eating and drinking establishments.

Shopping Goods Surplus in home furnishings, hardware, and stationery & gifts. Leakage in furniture, electronics, apparel, sporting goods, books & music, and general merchandise.

Surplus in home furnishings, computer & software, and hardware. Leakage in stationery & gifts, appliances, and other similar categories as Millis Town Center

Surplus in music. Leakage in all other shopping goods categories.

SALEM POINTVISION + ACTION

THE SALEM POINT VISION AND ACTION

PLAN EMPOWERED RESIDENTSto create their own community vision and to mobilize resources

to ensure that the Point develops sustainability in its housing,

land and environmental resources, and its economy.

Together, the City of Salem, North Shore CDC, Point

Neighborhood Association and Metropolitan Area Planning

Council’s year-long visioning process generated interest

among diverse residents in participating in a local planning

process that resulted in an Action Plan to guide municipal

priorities for local improvements.

The partnership’s success continues to attract private and

public investors to support the plan’s implementation.

Outcomes:

• 100 people attended two public

meetings.

• Using Community PlanIt, a web-based

engagement game, 191 community

members contributed ideas about their

neighborhood.

• 11 focus groups with neighborhood

leaders and residents

• $447,500 of additional funds committed

to action items identified by residents.

• Winner of the Working Cities Challenge

grant for key partners to continue to

oversee the plan’s implementation.

Mayor Kimberley DriscollCity of Salem

“The Point Neighborhood has tremendous assets. The planning

process presents a great opportunity for residents, business owners, and

others to actively participate in creating a common vision to strengthen the neighborhood.”


PLAN

Creating a VisionStrengthening a Community

2013 - 2021

TRANSPORTATION

POLICY WORK

Transportation Funding• Five transportation finance forums attended by more than 800

people

• Generated 7,335 advocacy emails to legislators

• “Fix the T” budget calculator website visited by 8,000+ users

• Grew list of supporters from 0 to 3,000+ transportation

advocates

• Many partners including Transportation for Massachusetts,

Massachusetts Municipal Association, A Better City, and

regional, environmental, and grassroots organizations

Transportation Finance Research• Drafted legislation that would allow municipalities to raise their

own revenue for transportation through local or regional

referenda

• Wrote legislation to incentivize Complete Streets policies that

includes capital funding

• Organized a forum to promote the use of value-capture

strategies

Victories• Lawmakers prevented the most

severe MBTA fare hikes by increasing financial support to the MBTA (2012)

• Lawmakers dedicated an

additional $600 million per year to

transportation over the next five

years. The bill included a Value

Capture Commission (2013)

• A Complete Streets program was

adopted with $50 million

authorization as part of

Transportation Bond Bill (2014)



Transportation Funding Advocacy

Transportation Finance Research

POLICY WORK

Zoning Reform

• Streamlined zoning reform bill

filed with 38 cosponsors

• The bill provides needed tools to cities

and towns to realize their development

and preservation goals

• Partners include the Massachusetts

Smart Growth Alliance, the Zoning

Reform Working Group, municipal

officials, and planning, public health, and

environmental organizations

Sustainable Water Infrastructure

• Seeks to address a $21 billion backlog in

water infrastructure needs

• Developed advocacy materials and press

to highlight the need for increased

investment in water infrastructure

• Partners include environmental,

business, and municipal organizations,

through the Water Infrastructure Alliance,

a group of organizations growing out of

the Water Infrastructure Finance

Commission.



Zoning Reform

Sustainable Water Infrastructure

ZONING & WATER

VICTORIES

Water infrastructure legislation passed in the Senate (2013)Zoning reform legislation favorably reported out of committee (2014)

Route 9 MetroWest Smart Growth Plan


LandscapingParcel Interconnectivity

Health, Safety, EnvironmentGrowth without Gridlock

Smart Growth

ComponentsGood Public Transit

Compact and WalkableBuildings in Front, Parking

BehindPedestrian & Bicycle Friendly

The MetroWest Regional Collaborative and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council worked with

Southborough, Framingham, Natick and Wellesley on the Route 9 Smart Growth Plan. This plan for future

development along the Route 9 corridor includes alternative designs and land uses for several smart growth

opportunity areas. It includes, also, computer visualizations, traffic analyses, design guidelines and zoning

recommendations. The Route 9 Smart Growth Plan focuses on the potential for compact, mixed-use

(housing, office, and commercial) developments that are pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

The policy agenda is a road map to move us away from existing inequities and towards the

vision the region’s residents want to pass along to their children and grandchildren.

State of Equity Pol icy Agenda

The policy agenda provides strategies to

reduce these disparities. They fall into

three categories:

Invest in places, to ensure that all residents, regardless of race or class, have the ability to live in areas of opportunity, however they might choose to define that opportunity.

Invest in people, according to need and regardless of where they might live.

Build more equitable public systems, to ensure that all decision-making processes and investments are made with the interests of the region’s historically underserved populations in mind.

Release Event!

July 11, 2014

Join Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of Policy Link, at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School for the release of the Policy Agenda.

Funding provided by the Metro Boston Consortium for Sustainable Communities with a grant from US

HUD and the Barr Foundation

• 20% of Blacks/African Americans live in poverty compared to 6% of Whites

• About half of renters pay more than 30% of their income on rent

• Nearly 75% of Black/African American and Latino students attend high-poverty schools, while just over 10% of Whites do

Our region is growing more diverse… …but we are growing less equal.

Managing Neighborhood Change

SOMERVILLEMAPC WORKED WITH THE CITY OF SOMERVILLE, SOMERVILLE COMMUNITY CORPORATION, SOMERVILLE TRANSPORTATION EQUITY PARTNERSHIP, FRIENDS OF THE COMMUNITY PATH, AND OTHER PARTNERS to catalyze and support development and preservation in transformational areas of the city, while helping to manage change and stabilize neighborhoods in ways that advance equity and long-term sustainability. The primary work focused on developing anti-displacement strategies for the city and its partners and drafting a community benefits/ metrics report to advance the community path.


Funding provided by the MetroBoston Consortium for Sustainable Communities with a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Learning about housing issues has led to deeper understanding of the interrelationship between housing and other issues in Somerville and theneed to bring greater awareness of and advocate for housing.Ellin Reisner, Somerville Transportation Equity

Partnership

This body of data answers long-standing questions and it’s incredibly gratifying to have the knowledge. Meridith Levy,

Somerville Community Corporation

Outcomes:

• The City is securing funding for affordable housing development and programs, including acquiring property adjacent to the Green Line extension route

• The City and partners are advancing workforce development strategies to connect Somerville residents to local jobs and ensuring that residents have the skills and preparation to succeed.

• MassDOT is providing full funding for the Somerville Community Path as part of the Green Line Extension project.

Regional Transit-Oriented

Development Goals and Finance

MAPC WORKED WITH THE LISC

BOSTON, CLF VENTURES, MA

ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY

DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS, MA

HOUSING INVESTMENT CORPORATION, funders, and statewide organizations to 1) gain agreement on

regional transit-oriented development goals and an

understanding of the capacity for housing and economic

growth in station areas throughout the region, 2) hold a

convening to learn from other regions’ successes in

developing TOD funds, 3) prepare a TOD finance gap analysis

to determine impediments to TOD, and 4) hold a final TOD

summit to announce the launch of two new TOD funds

available to communities in Massachusetts.

Outcomes:

• Helped advance the development of

The Accelerator fund by LISC Boston.

• Helped advance the development of the

Health Neighborhoods Equity Fund by

CLF Ventures.

• Helped secure $1 million for each fund

from the MA Executive Office of

Housing and Economic Development.

• Growing Station Areas spurred four

additional station area studies in

Beverly, Gloucester, Melrose, and

Quincy.


Funding provided by the MetroBoston Consortium for Sustainable Communities with a grant from US HUD, Ford Foundation, Barr Foundation, Hyams Foundation, and The Boston Foundation

mapc's sustainable communities regional planning grant project posters

Government & Nonprofit