With the long-awaited extension of Boston's Green Line train to Somerville expected to arrive in a few years, the city has embraced a planning and development process much different from the one that "left behind some of Somerville’s worst spaces."
From neighborhoods cleared to make room for a highway to suburban-style strip malls and industrial parks, Somerville has suffered from some of the worst effects of last century's urban renewal schemes.
"As Somerville prepares for the first phase of the long-awaited Green Line extension, it’s looking to turn that old urban renewal model on its head," writes Paul McMorrow. "The city is embracing the legal powers of urban renewal to overhaul its Union Square neighborhood, but in a way that’s deeply grounded in the existing community. In the process, Somerville is demonstrating what modern city-building looks like: locally focused, reliant on public transit, and grounded in entrepreneurial culture."
“We’ve learned where urban renewal has failed,” Mayor Joe Curtatone says. “It fails when it focuses on building structures. We’re starting with a values base. If we didn’t plan, and let change act on us, we’d get change we don’t want.”
FULL STORY: A game-changer for Somerville
Can Somerville, Massachusetts Keep Transit Oriented Redevelopment Affordable?
With six new Green Line stations coming to Somerville, Massachusetts in the next few years, planners and political leaders are trying to find the right balance between transit oriented redevelopment and its more expensive consequences.
Long Awaited Green Line Extension Opens Today North of Boston
The Green Line Extension project, in the works for decades, is now providing rail transit service from Boston north into Somerville.
Massachusetts Converts HOV Lane to General Purpose Lane
Road planners looking to increase capacity without adding lanes are focusing on managing existing lanes more effectively. Massachusetts has gone the opposite direction. The Conservation Law Foundation plans to hold them accountable.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service