Smart Growth America and Transportation for Massachusetts are launching a statewide program to equip elected officials from across Massachusetts to effectively advocate for and support safer and more complete streets in their communities. Today, we are excited to announce the 15 participants of the first-ever Massachusetts Champions’ Institute.
State DOTs in Massachusetts and Washington used new tools and strong communication to make the case for Complete Streets projects.
Last fall, SGA concluded a technical assistance partnership with two Massachusetts community organizations, CultureHouse in Somerville and Westside Legends in Pittsfield. The Massachusetts Technical Assistance programming included three distinct phases of support for the two community organizations in their efforts to advance affordable housing production and economic development opportunities in their respective communities. CultureHouse: Encouraging … Continued
Over two months in 2023, Smart Growth America and Westside Legends convened the Westside Working Group as part of our technical assistance program to advance equitable zoning reform and affordable housing development in Massachusetts. The Westside Working Group consisted of community members, civic leaders, and business leaders to develop recommendations to support affordable housing preservation … Continued
Smart Growth America is launching a new technical assistance (TA) program to support equitable development and housing attainability in Massachusetts thanks to generous funding from The Barr Foundation. The program is designed to provide community-based organizations with the skills and tools to advance sustainable, equitable development and affordable housing, and to support generational wealth creation … Continued
In the final session of Commonwealth Communities: Smart Growth Strategies for Our Emergent Future, expert speakers ranging from local municipal leaders to professional researchers discussed how to incorporate equity into zoning law. The history of zoning in the U.S. is fraught with racism and disparate impacts on communities of color and low-income communities. We have … Continued
Engaging in equitable budgeting practices is important on all levels of government, but especially at the local level, it is essential to ensure that community members are informed and empowered to participate in budgetary practices. In the next-to-last session of Commonwealth Communities: Smart Growth Strategies for Our Emergent Future, expert speakers described different tactics for promoting equity in municipal budgets. They touched on important concepts such as participatory budgeting, strategic funding opportunities, and social risk in the municipal market.
Throughout this session, speakers agreed that there needs to be a renewed focus on sustainability and resiliency in urban transportation systems in order to respond to the changing needs of riders and development as we approach a post-COVID world. In order to integrate all of these issues, there needs to be cooperation on all levels: federal, state, and local.
The City of Greenfield and the Town of Montague in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley sought technical assistance through the first-ever Massachusetts Opportunity Zones Academy to help determine future equitable development project feasibility in their three Opportunity Zones.
The proposed South Salem Commuter Rail Station has brought a lot of attention to an underutilized area of land in Salem, which also happens to be a designated Opportunity Zone. During the inaugural Massachusetts Opportunity Zones Academy, SGA provided the City with three different development scenarios to consider for the land use and zoning near the proposed station site.