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MAPC Comments on MBTA’s State of Good Repair Needs

MAPC Comments on MBTA’s State of Good Repair Needs MAPC Assistant Transportation Director Julia Wallerce delivered the following remarks to the MBTA Board of Directors on Thursday, November 16, 2023. November 16, 2023 – “Good morning, my name is Julia Wallerce and I am here on behalf of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. I am […]

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Planning Malden Square

Community engagement is best learned in practice, not in a classroom. Thanks to the City of Malden and the MAPC, a class of first year planning students at Harvard Graduate School of Design has been given the opportunity to do just that with “Plan Malden Square”. Plan Malden Square is a semester-long project that involves […]

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DeLeo – Let’s decide transportation $, then budget

Originally posted on the T4MA blog By Marie Szaniszlo House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo this morning said he wants the Legislature to decide how much to earmark for transportation, including funding for the MBTA and regional transit authorities, before it tackles the state budget. “It is my desire that we debate the transportation issue before […]

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Q&A with past Charles Eliot Scholarship recipient

It’s that time of year again, when MAPC puts out a call for applications for our Charles Eliot Scholarship, awarded annually to a senior in a secondary school in the MAPC region who intends to study a planning-related field in college. Allison Phillips, a Junior studying Environmental Design at UMass Amherst, filled us in on […]

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MAPC grants help communities create safe walking routes to school, smoke-free housing

In partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), MAPC awarded wellness “mini-grants” to municipalities within Middlesex County that do not currently receive Mass in Motion funding from MDPH. These grants will go towards projects that advance our goals for increasing opportunities for physical activity in communities; providing more smoke-free housing; and increasing options for healthy foods. For […]

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Fun Friday: Smart growth inspiration

Need some inspiration? A couple of colleagues and I just returned from the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Kansas City, Missouri! I always come back jazzed from all the people that I meet and all the cool community engagement ideas I hear about. This year was no different. I found inspiration in all […]

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What does speed have to do with vibrant communities?

On January 18, MAPC hosted a packed house for Slow Down! Speed Reduction Strategies for Vibrant Communities. The room was filled with bicycle and pedestrian advocates, local planners and public works staff, public health professionals, transportation engineers, elected officials, and local law enforcement. You can view all of the powerpoint presentations from the event below Better […]

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Discover the world of planning at the MAPC Open House

Have you registered for the MAPC Open House yet? Whether you’re completely new to MAPC, or you’ve gotten to know us through a specific project in your region or area of interest, there is always more to learn about the work that we’ve been doing, through this event! In the past year, we created a […]

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Smart growth shopping: Choosing a city stroller

Yesterday, I (meaning my husband, 8 month-old son, and me) went stroller shopping. Somehow our physical space constraints and our commuting patterns seem to figure into just about everything we purchase – will it fit and can you walk with it? In the case of a stroller we needed to consider: 1) how easily it collapses, and […]

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Finding the right words: Community engagement in Quincy

Last Thursday evening, MAPC and the City of Quincy hosted a meeting with residents, property owners, and business owners in the Wollaston neighborhood of Quincy to talk about a vision for Wollaston Center. To engage participants, MAPC asked the question “In one word or short phrase, what do you like best about the Wollaston area?” We used […]

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