Looking for information on MAPC’s official meetings and legal notices? Find it here.
Join the Mass. Association of Regional Planning Agencies and Division of Local Services to hear from special guests Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, the Governor’s former Chief of Staff, Steve Kadish, as well as Secretaries Tesler, Acosta, Kennealy and Card about how to make the most of unprecedented infrastructure modernization resources and build a firm foundation for our Commonwealth’s future. Click here to register.
“Building the Foundation for our Future: Equitable Infrastructure Modernization in Massachusetts” will be hosted at College of the Holy Cross on Thursday, September 29, 2022.
After remarks from the Governor and Lt. Governor, we’ll welcome to the stage Secretaries Tesler, Acosta, Kennealy and Card to talk about the potential available funding in each of their fields, and how communities can work with the Commonwealth to make the most of this funding, followed by a brief audience Q&A.
Afternoon workshops led by senior administration officials and local leaders from across the Commonwealth provide the chance, among other things, to dive deeper into these funding opportunities, think through the challenges facing your community, and hear from other communities looking to work through those same challenges.
Finally, you’ll hear from former Baker Chief of Staff and Harvard Taubman Center Senior Fellow Steve Kadish about some of the most promising strategies for working with community members and stakeholders to make the local change that our communities need.
Workshop topics include:
- Building the Municipal Workforce Pipeline: Challenges and Opportunities
- Early Education Reimagined: Funding Reform and Municipal Implications
- Broadening Broadband: Expanding Access to High-Speed Internet
- Transportation Infrastructure and Recovery: Stimulating Local Economies with Infrastructure Improvements
As an early step in the planning process, the Town of Belmont and MAPC are hosting a public forum to introduce the project team, review the HPP process, and discuss current housing needs and context. The event will be held in hybrid format to engage as many residents as possible.
Doors Open: 6 PM | Forum Begins: 6:30 PM
Register Here
Registering in advance will help us plan for both in-person and zoom attendance. Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email with information about how to join the event.
The event will also be livestreamed through Belmont Media Center.
Melrose, Malden, and Medford worked with the MAPC to collaboratively develop sustainable and resilient building design guidelines for residential and mixed-use developments and retrofits. These voluntary guidelines will help these communities encourage developers to build more more affordable housing that is energy-efficient and climate-resilient.
Join us for an interactive webinar on April 26 at 12:00 p.m. to learn about the guidelines and hear from the communities about how they plan to use them to shape green, affordable development.
The Town of Belmont MBTA Communities Advisory Committee invites you to a hybrid public forum to get your input on the future of multifamily housing in Belmont.
Whether you will be joining us in person at the Beech Street Center or virtually via Zoom, please register through this page so we know how many people to expect.
What to Expect at the Forum:
Members of the Advisory Committee, staff from the Town of Belmont, and planners from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council will present information about how Belmont is planning to comply with the Multifamily Zoning Requirement for MBTA Communities law (often called “Section 3A”). They will also ask for your ideas on where you think that multifamily housing should go in Belmont and what it should look like.
In-Person Location:
Beech Street Center, 266 Beech Street, Belmont On-site parking is available, and the Center is 0.3 miles from the intersection of Trapelo Road and Beech Street on MBTA Bus Route 73. Registration is not required to attend in person, though it is preferred.
Zoom Option:
Everyone who registers will receive a link to the Zoom meeting, even if you plan to attend in person.
Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll invites you to the 2023 Statewide Municipal Partnerships Conference for municipal officials and staff, co-hosted by the Massachusetts Regional Planning Agencies (MARPA) and Division of Local Services. The event will be held at the College of the Holy Cross on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023.
Lt. Governor Driscoll and a panel of Cabinet members, to be announced, will kick off the morning. We will then break into sessions focused on a wide array of issues and opportunities facing the Commonwealth, facilitated by subject matter experts from across Massachusetts. The breakout sessions will include:
- Climate Resiliency and Climate Action Plans;
- Building Livable Communities;
- Post-Pandemic Public Health; and
- Rural Empowerment
- Federal Funding Opportunities
The attendance fee is $20 and can be paid upon registering via PayPal / credit card. Checks can be mailed to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Only checks will be accepted for attendance payment if you wish to pay day of at check-in.
Steps to register:
- Complete the Registration Form
- Pay the attendance fee online through PayPal / credit card, or select the “At the door” option if you wish to pay by check or need an invoice. You can request an invoice by emailing nabbott@mapc.org.
- Attendees can also pay the registration fee upon checking in at the door. Please note that only checks will be accepted at the door.
MAPC will be releasing research examining the prevalence, characteristics, and spatial patterns of residential property speculation in Greater Boston. Our research finds that low-income urban communities of color experience the highest rates of speculative investor activity. Investors are often able to buy properties at a discount using cash, and they are also more likely than non-investors to flip their properties and to make a significantly higher profit on flipped properties than non-investors.
Our November 30 webinar will feature a presentation of this research and a panel discussion.
Guest panelists will include:
▪ Angie Liou, Executive Director, Asian Community Development Corporation
▪ Brian An, PhD, Director, Master of Science in Public Policy Program, Georgia Institute of Technology
▪ Tim Reardon, Chief of Data and Research, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
▪ Katie McCann, Rent Control Campaign Coordinator, City Life/Vida Urbana
Join MAPC, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI), the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, the City of Chelsea, and Chelsea Housing Authority for this webinar to learn more about MAPC and MBI’s Apartment Wi-Fi program. Hear from city and housing authority officials about how they formed a partnership to bring free internet access to Housing Authority residents, and how other housing authorities and affordable housing providers around the Commonwealth can do the same.
Meeting Focus: MetroCommon 2050 and Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Update
Learn more about the NSPC subregion by visiting the subregion’s webpage!
Please join us for this webinar to learn more about a new MAPC Section 3A decision-making support tool!
Background
In 2021, the Massachusetts Legislature added a new section to the state’s Zoning Act (MGL Chapter 40A) — MBTA Communities Multifamily Zoning Requirement (Section 3A) — that requires each municipality in the MBTA district to zone for by-right multifamily housing near transit stations or smart growth locations.
MAPC has developed an interactive MBTA Communities Multifamily Zoning Requirement (Section 3A) District Suitability Analysis Tool to help municipalities within the MAPC region identify locations for 3A zoning districts that also advance regional and local goals.
This Webinar
MAPC staff will provide an overview of the tool’s use and showcase how it may be applied, in tandem with stakeholder-driven processes, to facilitate conversations around areas suitable for new housing production.
Register to join us for this event
Questions? Please contact:
Emma Battaglia (ebattaglia@mapc.org)
This event is now full. However, you can still join the waiting list, and if a spot opens up between now and the date of the event and you are next on the waiting list, we will contact you by email. Thank you!
MAPC invites you to join us for this exciting MetroCommon 2050 Speaker Series event featuring keynote speaker Henry Grabar.
Event Program:
- Keynote address by Henry Grabar; Slate staff writer, author (Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World), and a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard School of Design
- Panel of municipal planners will discuss how they are taking on the issue of the “perfect parking space”, and advancing sustainable and equitable housing and transportation options.
As cities and towns work to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, this event will focus on how to “right-size” parking for your community while managing this political issue and promoting healthy neighborhoods that are economically vibrant, equitable, and sustainable by design.