Looking for information on MAPC’s official meetings and legal notices? Find it here.
The next deadline for the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) voting cycle is coming up on September 23rd and we want to make sure you have the tools and information you need to complete your voter validation and to get ready for the vote itself. MAPC is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, August 20th from 12:30 to 1:30 PM. Please join us to hear about the next steps in the voting process and other updates on Codes for Climate efforts locally and nation-wide!
MAPC is working to make our building code better for the climate, healthy and safe for the people living and working in buildings, and more energy-efficient. Buildings account for approximately one-third of our GHG emissions as a state. By constructing and retrofitting these structures in a more energy-efficient manner, we will not only improve our climate, but also enhance the quality of life of our residents. To learn more about how MAPC is supporting our municipalities to improve the building code, visit our Codes for Climate page.
Join MAPC on Wednesday, September 11, from 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM, for a free webinar on our new white paper, Hot, Cool, Clean: Clean Heating and Cooling Opportunities for Massachusetts Municipalities.
Across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, municipalities are embracing clean heating and cooling systems as important tools for reducing their energy costs and their greenhouse gas emissions. With recent technological advancements and evolving markets, air-source heat pumps, ground-source humps, and solar thermal have emerged as viable alternatives to fossil-fuel heating systems. Hot, Cool, Clean: Clean Heating and Cooling Opportunities for Massachusetts Municipalities highlights the technologies that are providing municipalities with cost-effective, low-carbon solutions for their heating and cooling needs. Join MAPC for this webinar to learn more about the incentives available to municipalities interested in clean heating and cooling and to hear from municipal leaders who have installed these systems.
To preserve our communities and create opportunity for future generations, we must eliminate carbon emissions and green our cities and towns. We also must advance equity, resilience, public health, and economic growth.
How do we align those critical needs for mutual benefit? That’s the question the MAPC Clean Energy Forum will dig into on December 11. Join us!
Light breakfast and beverages will be served. Further event details to come!
Learn more about MetroCommon 2050, Greater Boston’s next regional plan: https://metrocommon.mapc.org.
Help set housing goals for Lynn!
Are you interested in helping the City of Lynn develop a community-driven plan to promote housing opportunity for all? The City, with the support of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), is launching “Housing Lynn: A plan for inclusive growth.” Housing Lynn will assess unmet housing need in Lynn, establish housing goals, and recommend strategies to meet them.
To learn more about Housing Lynn, including the plan’s context, timeline, and more, visit mapc.org/housing-lynn.
This first Housing Lynn forum is focused on understanding housing needs and setting priorities. Our discussion will help ensure Housing Lynn serves a broad range of Lynners, including renters and homeowners, families and those living alone, and folks of different ages, backgrounds, and income levels. Your voice is needed to ensure the plan represents all corners of this diverse community.
Free parking and Spanish interpretation available.
We’re postponing… but! In response to the Massachusetts’s Governor’s guidance in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, we’re postponing this event. In the meantime, however, we’re still thinking about these important issues, and know you are, too. We invite you to sign up here to receive occasional emails on this and related topics. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to being in touch!
What can municipal staff working in the areas of planning, open space and recreation, and public arts do to address untold histories, engage with controversy, and leverage the power of public art and public memory in these discussions?
Join the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and New England Foundation for the Arts for a professional development workshop designed for municipal staff on new approaches to public memory and public art in Greater Boston.
In this workshop, you’ll learn about best practices for facilitating dialogue about controversial monuments and memorials in your community, and about inspiring examples of public art and public history projects that are transforming public memories of places around the country. You will also engage in small group discussions where you’ll have an opportunity to learn about lesser-known historic and cultural stories in our region and how those stories and experiences can be actively engaged in place-based planning and programming related to public art, creative placemaking/placekeeping initiatives, and more.
Facilitators and Speakers: To be announced
This event is part of a series organized by the MAPC’s Arts and Culture Department and NEFA’s Public Art Department in conjunction with MAPC’s MetroCommon 2050 planning process. This unique, cross-sector initiative brings together artists and creators, planners, and policymakers to discuss the evolving relationship among public art, public memory, and public policy and to explore how artists can envision and shape more inclusive, thriving spaces and communities in Greater Boston.
COVID-19-related unemployment could cause a massive housing crisis in Massachusetts. 468,000 Massachusetts residents filed unemployment claims in the first three weeks of the COVID crisis.
Who has been laid off? How many are now at risk of eviction or foreclosure? Will CARES Act assistance help? What about those who don’t qualify for federal aid? Join MAPC staff for a virtual discussion of our research brief, “The COVID-19 Layoff Housing Gap.”
On April 21, MAPC is releasing an update to “The COVID-19 Layoff Housing Gap” with the latest unemployment data.
At this webinar on April 22, MAPC Data Services Director Tim Reardon and Socioeconomic Analyst II Sarah Philbrick will discuss the updated data–and what it means for workers, municipalities, and the Commonwealth.
Join MAPC to learn how to use our new Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool and Step-by-Step Guide. This virtual training will help municipal staff and volunteers understand the basics of developing a GHG inventory, where they can go to gather the data for their community, and how to understand the data once you’ve completed the Tool.
Solar Remote Permitting & Inspection Best Practices: COVID-19 Impacts and Long-Term Potential
Please join MassCEC, MAPC, and SolSmart to learn about best practices on remote permitting and inspection during COVID-19, and the long-term potential of those practices. The webinar will feature guest speakers from three Massachusetts communities; Gardner, Brockton, and Lowell. If you have questions regarding registration, please contact solar@masscec.com.
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7565282524044732684
MAPC and Groundwork USA invite municipal and agency staff, community organizations and members, and renewable energy developers to join a virtual workshop on the potential of Brownfields to Brightfields (B2B) to advance equitable community development. B2B projects repurpose brownfields sites – land with known or potential hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants – with solar energy installations on ground-mounted arrays, building rooftops, or canopy structures.
This workshop will share findings on models for B2B projects that advance equity and community benefits, highlighting real-world examples, challenges, and opportunities. Participants will learn about a new mapping tool for identifying potential B2B sites in Massachusetts and have the opportunity to lay the groundwork for future B2B project partnerships.
Download Agenda
This project was made possible with support from EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization. The event is free and preregistration is required. Register here and contact Julie Curti (jcurti@mapc.org) or Adi Nochur (adi@groundworkusa.org) with any questions.
Municipal Webinar
Economic Development Administration American rescue plan act programs and funding
The Economic Development Administration received $3 billion in supplemental funding to assist communities in their economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
EDA is making funding available through six innovative “challenges.” This webinar will review those funding categories and provide guidance about eligible projects, submitting applications, and developing partnerships.
Read more about EDA’s ARPA funding and the six challenges here.
After you register for this webinar, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.