Looking for information on MAPC’s official meetings and legal notices? Find it here.
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.
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
This interactive webinar hosted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) will review the important details about the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is granting more than $3M in funding to MAPC municipalities through the EECBG Program to support local governments in their efforts to cut carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency, and reduce energy use. This program supports the Biden Administration’s goal of achieving a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by 2050. This webinar will focus on opportunities for municipalities and ways to maximize the impact of the grant.
Join Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to learn more about our climate, energy, and environment work. MAPC is the regional planning agency serving 101 cities and towns in Metro Boston. Our Clean Energy Department and Environment Department are hiring both full-time positions, as well as summer internships. Come learn about regional planning, our departments, and open positions at this virtual information session.
Session is meant to be for: higher education students, soon-to-be grads, recent graduates, mid-level professionals.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s (MAPC) Clean Energy Department is hosting a webinar on equitable community engagement for its Equity in Clean Energy webinar series. This event will provide an introduction to equitable community engagement in planning, followed by brief introductions from each of our guest speakers and the community engagement work they do in their communities. We will be joined by:
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- Niri Kumar, Natick Resident
- Marlees Owayda, Cambridge Community Engagement Manager
- Lindsay Diaz, Cambridge Community Engagement Team Co-Leader
- Gail Latimore, Executive Director, CSNDC – Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation
Questions? Please contact:
Francelis Morillo Suarez
fmorillosuarez@mapc.org
The Central Transportation Planning Staff to the Boston MPO is hosting an upcoming discussion on resilience in transportation planning at next week’s Regional Transportation Advisory Council meeting on May 10, from 2:30-4:05 PM. The Advisory Council is an independent public body that meets monthly to discuss transportation topics in the Boston region and help direct the Boston MPO’s work by advising staff and voting on the MPO board.
Staff will be discussing the MPO’s environmental and resilience work, and will welcome feedback on goals and ideas for the resilience program and priorities for incorporating resilience and climate adaptation into transportation planning.
You can find a Zoom link for the 5/10 Advisory Council meeting on the MPO Calendar, where a detailed agenda and more materials will be posted shortly.
Please reach out to Stella Jordan at sjordan@ctps.org if you have any questions.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s (MAPC) Clean Energy Department is hosting its final webinar for its Equity in Clean Energy webinar series. This event will focus on equitable access to clean energy technologies, specifically models for EV (electric vehicle) equity.
Join us to learn about a local equity-focused EV Carsharing model, EV charging infrastructure at multi-unit dwellings, and to hear about the MAPC Transportation Department’s work in this area.
There will then be an opportunity for Q&A.
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMpduCtrT0iHdNkvPrPTrrA5iwB6kwdbEUT#/registration
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.