News

Long time CPM member, Carol Todreas, presents an update on the state of retail.

https://nerej.com/keeping-the-there-there-by-carol-todreas

Consulting Planners of Massachusetts wishes all a happy start to 2023. As we look ahead to a new year —with plenty of exciting programming already in the works!— we also want to take a moment to reflect on our accomplishments in 2022. Read on for highlights from the past year and learn about the variety of events, programming and advocacy efforts made possible by the support of our members. 

2022 Highlights

• Eight in-person & virtual events hosted, including:
• • Creating a Race Equity Framework and Tools for Planners, a two-part workshop run by the YWCA and sponsored by BETA, Barrett Planning Group, Jacobs, Favermann Design, LAA and LDS on how planners can view their role through a racial justice lens. Participants earned AICP CM credits.

• Two new board members:
• • Mark Favermann and Lynne Sweet joined the CPM Executive Committee at the start of 2022 and their contributions have been invaluable. Lynne was also featured as our March '22 Planner of the Month. 

• Dozens of postings and updates published:
• • 107 RFPs, upcoming RFPs and job opportunities were posted to our website and sent in regular email digests to our members.
    
    
  • 26 news and professional updates were published on our website to keep you up to date on planning in the Commonwealth and at large.
    
    
  • Two letters from CPM were published in The Boston Globe highlighting the value and need for planning. 

• And more!
• • CPM presented the Distinguished Civic Leadership Award to Emmy Hahn (Mass. DHCD) at the APA-MA Annual Awards in December 2022, recognizing Hahn's tireless work for private sector planners. Read more on page 11 of the Winter 2023 MA-APA Planning Magazine.

We could not have accomplished so much in 2022 without the support of our members. We grew our membership by 21% and added a new membership tier of Circle Members, to recognize our super contributors for their exemplary support. Thank you to each and every one of our members for your contributions to CPM. We look forward to providing our network dedicated planning resources for another year! —and if you're thinking about becoming a member, you can learn more about the benefits of membership and join today.

Proposed zoning updates that would make it easier to convert office buildings in commercial districts to housing and other uses could yield up to 20,000 new housing units in the next decade...“Expanding the options available to these office buildings will help ensure our business districts’ vitality. And while housing is the top priority, we also need to think creatively about how offices can be turned into child care centers, schools, labs, and other uses we want to see.” 

https://www.planetizen.com/news/2023/01/120914-nyc-mayor-proposes-office-conversion-plan?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-01172023&mc_cid=4e42a24fe2&mc_eid=b9p0fICGm0

Gamble Associates, an architecture and planning firm in Cambridge, was awarded a BSA Design Award for its Riverfront Plan in Rochester, Minnesota. Projects selected for awards were those that “strive to be more inclusive, center economic development, and include community voices in the planning process.”

Comprehensive (aka long) story about the effects of 1936 redlining on Worcester neighborhoods today.

https://www.wbjournal.com/article/trapped-worcester-neighborhoods-still-suffer-from-the-legacy-of-redlining

Trapped_ Worcester neighborhoods still suffer from the legacy of redlining _ Worcester Business Journal.pdf

"Community Feedback Process Needs Reform" is the title of this article, and while it's whiny in places and bullying in others, there are a number of good points noted.

In short, the problem with community feedback is not the concept itself, but the way it is executed. We do it too often, for too many things, for too long, and in the wrong manner. We ask the wrong questions of the wrong people and use the answers in the wrong way. Professionals and politicians have so far been afraid to admit there is a problem outside of private conversations, because it can seem anti-democratic and even anti-American to appear opposed to the town hall ethos of local control.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7z5jm/thank-you-for-your-feedback

Travel Through History: The most recent addition to the subway system in the Greater Athens area (@ the port of Piraeus) provides a critical public transportation link while also acting as a museum displaying the archaeological artifacts uncovered during the construction process! One doesn't even have to pay to enter the station and enjoy the museum's exhibits located throughout the station!!

https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/11/03/reuters-on-piraeus-metro/?fbclid=IwAR3l8_lORTtpT3zV4kkDW4W3i3q_SS_-6zEZl4hZzN3pJpha3iWHs4Rs5tU 

The moment you step out of your home, the decisions you make and the challenges you are facing moving through the city are highly dependent on people’s gender. Despite the still common belief that urban mobility is gender-neutral by default, researchers and practitioners are becoming aware of the inherently different behavioral patterns and experiences of women navigating city streets. We will now take a look at how women practitioners are working on the topic of gender equality in mobility in Copenhagen, Paris and Brussels.

https://www.allthingsurban.net/blog/Women-in-the-Streets-%E2%80%93-How-to-Make-Urban-Mobility-Safe-and-Accessible-for-All

Boston's downtown was clobbered by COVID. Foot traffic is still around half of what it was pre-pandemic, as people abandon their high-rise offices to work from home. According to city officials, only 30% of offices downtown are currently occupied.

City officials have been thinking about how to breathe life back into the once-busy neighborhood. In a plan released Thursday, the downtown Boston they envision has more food trucks, shops and tourists. It has performances, a lively nightlife and more housing — including affordable units.

https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/10/27/downtown-boston-financial-district