This summer, the City of Boston will unveil a 鈥渟trategic vision,鈥� setting the stage for its first citywide plan in more than half a century. Helping to shape that vision have been a series of public gatherings鈥攖he largest of which took place this spring at Boston College under the auspices of the Carroll School and the Law School.
Jointly sponsored by the聽Joseph E. Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action聽and the聽Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy, 鈥淚magine Boston 2030鈥� was sold out weeks before the March 30 event in Robsham. The conference borrowed its title from a聽聽to forge what Boston leaders are calling a 鈥渟tronger, more inclusive city.鈥� The subtitle, 鈥淢aking Choices for a Growing City,鈥� alluded to the challenges of harnessing growth for the benefit of all Bostonians.
鈥淥ne thing is for sure鈥攐ur city is growing,鈥� Mayor Marty Walsh, WCAS 鈥�09, told the crowd made up of Boston College students, teachers, staff, and city residents. He referred to population (expected to exceed 700,000 by 2030, compared to just over 600,000 in 2010) and construction (with $7 billion of projects underway). 鈥淚t seems we鈥檙e building everything in the City of Boston,鈥� he said.
The question is whether 鈥渨e鈥檒l have growth for everyone,鈥� Walsh added, saying the city must be both livable and affordable. The mayor stressed that his Imagine Boston 2030 initiative is seeking broad participation in the urban planning process. 鈥淭his conversation isn鈥檛 for the few. It鈥檚 for the many,鈥� he said, calling on those in Robsham to 鈥済o out and ask people to get involved鈥� in the planning process. A final citywide plan, after a few iterations, is expected one year from now.
After Walsh鈥檚 remarks early in the gathering, Boston Redevelopment Authority planning director Sara Myerson noted that as recently as the 1980s, Boston was 鈥渁 struggling city in decline.鈥� Now it鈥檚 growing faster than any other major U.S. metropolitan area, she added.
At the same time, Myerson underscored 鈥渘ew challenges.鈥� She pointed out that median income in the city ($56,902) is similar to that elsewhere in the country, but the cost of living here is two and a half times the national average. Soaring rents and home prices are notably to blame. Myerson spoke further of the city鈥檚 declining middle class, reflected in 鈥済rowing wealth and enduring poverty鈥� side by side.
During a panel discussion that followed, Harriet Tregoning of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development pointed to a trend that plays to Boston鈥檚 advantage: 鈥淚t used to be that people followed the jobs. Today, companies follow the talent,鈥� said Tregoning, who directs community planning and development at HUD. She was alluding to聽聽from Connecticut to the Seaport District in talent-rich Boston.
Moderating the discussion was Meghna Chakrabarti, cohost of WBUR鈥檚聽Radio Boston, who handled questions from the Robsham audience (penciled out on index cards collected by undergraduate student volunteers) and from those聽. In response to a question via Twitter,聽Boston Globe聽business columnist Shirley Leung highlighted the need for 鈥渁 pipeline鈥� of jobs flowing into low-income neighborhoods, not just the thriving districts that draw high-paid talent. 鈥淭here will always be income inequality, but we need to create opportunities for everyone, so there鈥檚 a path upward,鈥� she said.
Other panel members included John Barros, the City of Boston鈥檚 economic development chief; Walter Hood, urban designer and landscape architecture professor at the University of California, Berkeley; and Joe Kriesberg, who heads the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations. Welcoming and closing remarks at the conference were delivered, respectively, by Law School Dean Vincent Rougeau and Corcoran Center Director Neil McCullagh. In a guest blog post two days earlier for Imagine Boston 2030, McCullagh said the initiative has 鈥渃reated a platform for Bostonians and other users of the city to voice their ambition and vision for a future that will bring out the best in our city and our region.鈥�
Afterward, many members of the audience stepped out through a side exit and into a tent where they voted on different ideas for Boston鈥檚 citywide plan. Exhibits featured questions such as 鈥淲hat would you add or change to make your neighborhood an even better place to live?鈥� Conference goers used sticker dots to choose priorities, among them 鈥渙pen space,鈥� 鈥渂etter transit,鈥� and "housing affordable at different income levels."
Asked about the drift of her voting, Corcoran research assistant Kathleen O鈥橲hea said, 鈥淚 guess the overall theme is mixed income development.鈥� O鈥橲hea, an MCAS 鈥�16 graduate launching her career at Boston-based Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, added, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 important for the future of the city.鈥�