Connect with civic engagement professionals and changemakers focused on inclusion and access in Metro Boston.

Free with RSVP! You must RSVP here: https://mapc.ma/IgniteEngagement

Complimentary light appetizers, cash bar.

Sponsored by:
Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Howard Stein Hudson, and The Move MIT

NOTICE OF POSTPONEMENT

Dear Friends of MAPC:

Out of an abundance of caution, MAPC has decided to postpone the Winter Council Meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday, March 10) in Framingham.  Over the next few days, we will assess the situation and decide how to reschedule the Council Meeting and Legislative Panel on Housing, Transportation, and Climate.  We will consider rescheduling as a virtual event, which will provide Council members and allies the opportunity to learn the latest about what is going on at the State House, without having to participate in a crowded event that might make some people uncomfortable.

I realize we sent out a note earlier this morning reminding people about the Council Meeting, and I apologize if this update causes any confusion.  Still, we feel the wisest course is to postpone the meeting, and to reschedule in a different format.

Please stay tuned, and stay safe!

Best regards,

Marc Draisen

Executive Director

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!

How might creative acts of remembering and imagining in public help us reframe the past and present–and see more inclusive futures?

Join the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) for a conversation that explores the power of public art to catalyze critical dialogue around public memory, representation, and belonging, and to transform public life. You’ll hear from artists, curators, and organizers who use creative strategies to reframe public memory and imagine future possibilities for more inclusive, thriving spaces and communities.

Guest Speakers:

Paul Farber – Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab and Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Public Art and Space at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design (keynote speaker and moderator)
Erin Genia (Dakota/ Odawa) – Multidisciplinary artist, educator and cultural worker specializing in Indigenous arts and culture
Kate Gilbert – Executive Director of Now + There
Stephen Hamilton – Artist and educator, based in Boston

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.

What is spatial justice, and how can cities and towns use this framework to rethink how their built environment supports people’s rights to be, thrive, express and connect? What role can artists and public art play in helping us imagine and shape more inclusive, thriving public spaces throughout Greater Boston? Join a lively discussion among artists, activists, and urbanists who are leading the conversation about spatial justice in our region today.

How can public-making—the collective creation and activation of public spaces for interaction and belonging—be a radical, joyful tool for spatial justice? Join artists, activists, and community leaders to discuss how public-making can create opportunities for interaction, laughter, dialogue, and surprise, and explore real-life examples of public-making that you can bring to your community.

Not all public spaces are created equal. Transformative planning and urban design begins with addressing historic and current experiences of racism and exclusion. But what does that mean in practice? Join the conversation with creative community leaders about what it means to design for spatial justice. We’ll explore how skate parks, sidewalk kitchens, and “dance courts” can change how public space is used, who feels welcome in it, and how inclusive creative placemaking can help lead the way toward lasting spatial justice.

Join MAPC to hear from housing organizations, the Department of Housing & Community Development, and Boston and other municipalities on how to respond to residents at risk of eviction or other destabilizing forces during the pandemic.

We’ll learn about the anticipated impacts of expiring eviction moratoria, an overview of the Governor’s Eviction Diversion Initiative, and tenant rights and responsibilities. A panel will then discuss tools available to help residents stay in their homes, how to implement them, and what localities are doing to support residents experiencing housing instability during these unprecedented times.

Speakers will include:
Tim Reardon, Director of Data Services, MAPC
Chris Kluchman, Deputy Director, Community Services Division, DHCD
Tom Ambrosino, City Manager, City of Chelsea
Domonique Williams, Deputy Director, Office of Housing Stability, City of Boston
Chris Cotter, Housing Director, City of Cambridge
Keith Benoit, Community Development Planner, City of Northampton

MAPC is happy to be in attendance at this event as part of our partnership with the City of Malden on the development of their climate action plan.

Attending the event? Look for the MAPC table, and come by and say hello! We’ll have a dot-voting activity, a postcard activity, and a drawing station/art contest (winning art will be used as section dividers in the final climate action plan!). 

More information on the event can be found here. 

More information on the Malden Climate Action Plan (CAP) can be found here. 

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.

Register via Zoom

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