Boston’s subway plays a critical role for the city. Despite a fare increase in 2007 and receiving a dedicated portion of the state’s sales tax, in recent years the agency’s tight budget (driven partly by labor, health care, and energy costs) has prevented needed maintenance and upgrades. With many of the system’s cars nearing the […]
Could the Big Dig Have Cost Less?
As the parks it created finally fill with activity and the project fades from newspaper headlines, Boston’s Big Dig is subtly slipping into the city’s history. Officially known as the Central Artery Bridge/Tunnel Project, the Big Dig buried an elevated freeway in downtown Boston and added a new freeway tunnel under Boston Harbor connecting Logan […]
Nostalgia is Not Urban Planning
A cover story in yesterday’s Boston Globe asked “Would car traffic bring back the crowds?” for Boston’s historic retail district Downtown Crossing. A partial pedestrian mall since 1978 (commercial traffic is allowed), the Globe pondered whether the “solution” to the neighborhood’s woes would be a return of automobile traffic. The story quotes business owners who […]
Where the (Brick) Sidewalk Ends
I was in Harvard Square one evening last fall when I light rain began falling. A girl dashed out of a convenience store doorway, hurrying for an unknown reason. Turning the corner she abruptly slipped and fell on the brick sidewalk. No quicker than she had fallen she jumped up, unhurt, to continue on her […]
Mass. Survey Finds Nearly One-Quarter of Distressed Homeowners Obtain Loan Modifications
An intriguing new survey by the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations finds that nearly one-quarter of homeowners facing foreclosure who sought counseling were able to obtain a loan modification from their mortgage lender. Drawing from 1,143 people who have sought assistance from non-profit agencies providing housing counseling, the survey also contains information about the […]
Boston Work
I thought I would note here that I recently moved to Boston, and last week started work as a Research Analyst at the Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a planning agency that represents 101 cities and towns in the metropolitan Boston region. I’ll be working in the agency’s Data Center, as well as on the […]
Moving to Boston
I thought I would announce here I will be moving to Boston in September, as Saturday I signed a lease on a Cambridge apartment. My girlfriend Libby will be starting Harvard Law School and I am looking for planning work. Any assistance or advice regarding either endeavor is welcome.