HelloBostonHi
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Similarly, www.mapjunction.com has some incredibly detailed history of Boston
Development Map and Chart
- Thread starter BostonUrbEx
- Start date
HelloBostonHi
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I truly just can't think of the right thread for this so mod's move it if I'm in the wrong place, but the BPDA has finally made the BOLD map semi-public which shows what parcels the BPDA still owns and what their status is: https://gis.bostonplans.org/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=576d539561c946de9d068c85a46e139c
Gunner02
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10.28.20 - Also not sure where to place this but interesting, nonetheless. Haven't seen this anywhere but I could have missed it. #bancars among most will appreciate.
City Unveils Proposed Designs for State Street in Downtown Boston
Crosswalks will be shortened, sidewalks will be expanded, and bicyclists will get an upgraded connection – including a proposed protected intersection where State Street meets the I-93 Surface Road…
mass.streetsblog.org
dshoost88
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BBJ: Boston officials signed off on $8.5B in development in 2020
Aside from a month-by-month highlight of major projects, there’s this nice summary in the article:
Aside from a month-by-month highlight of major projects, there’s this nice summary in the article:
IF developers succeed at delivering the 10,123 residential units approved in 2020 and the units house an average 2.1 persons each (roughly average Boston household size today), Boston would not only be on track for fulfilling its housing goals but also house an additional 21,500 people. And if the BPDA/City maintain the same rate of new development approval, Boston could, therefore, double the number of new residents it saw during the last decade, eclipsing its 801,444 population record some time around 2026-2027. Here’s hoping everyone keeps it up!
Due to the changing dynamics and demographics post-pandemic, I think this will happen, not because of government edict, but because of market demand. Office towers are going to be taking a back seat to massive residential towers - - mainly catering to the rich or semi-rich, with government edict set-asides for some affordable.
Pre-2014, how many 25+ story residential towers was Boston seeing? How many since then? And the momentum is building.
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Famously next to none, because Menino made it hard to build anything, especially if he didn't like the look of it; Flynn before him had a similar policy.
Suffolk 83
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I've heard this about Menino before- is there any literature that fleshed out the idea that Menino was anti-development?
dshoost88
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There's a few books I've read that talk about Boston's development patterns and some political influences... not necessarily anything that explicitly states "Menino was anti-development," but contextually they illustrate city's historic development patterns, development during Menino years, and (filling in the blanks with content from ArchBoston) development post-Menino.
Suggested readings:
Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-Century Landfill Project. by William A. Newman and Wilfred E. Holton (2006)
The Hub's Metropolis: Greater Boston's Development from Railroad Suburbs to Smart Growth. James C. O'Connell. (2012)
The Heart of the City: Creating Vibrant Downtowns for a New Century. Alexander Garvin (2019)
I don't think Menino was 'anti-development' per se; however, I think it's clear that he and some staff under his eye could've made certain decisions under his watch that would've enabled more development to happen in Boston than did during the Menino years. To curcuas' point, Menino did make it hard to build anything. For example, in grad school I had the weird opportunity to interview longtime BRA Director of Planning Kairos Shen (weeks before he was very publicly fired from the agency in 2015). He spoke very candidly about how the office and how the city worked to
Although I think City development policy hasn't changed that much since Menino was Mayor, I do think Imagine Boston 2030 was a major step in the right direction for zeroing in on development goals and how to achieve them... it was the city's first master plan in 50 years.
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andrejpesockij920
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Hello everybody. Menino made it difficult to build anything, especially if he didn't like the look.This is from the latest news.
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It's great to say that at some philosophical level Menino wasn't anti development, but the permitting numbers show absolutely anemic housing growth through Menino's tenure despite a long economic boom and the end of rent control. The measure of "pro development" in a mayor is whether they let infill bloom in all corners of the city, not whether a couple downtown towers got built.
donkeybutlers
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Maybe ending rent control isn't good for housing?
BostonUrbEx
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I love how the map in the original post on this thread is just a snapshot of the construction scene from 10 years ago. If I ever catch up with what's going on again, I promise I'll try to overhaul the map and update it. It'll probably take a while to get acquainted with all the new projects though. 
NorthshoreCity
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I've been updating the maps for the greater Boston area for about the past year and a half on SkyscraperPage but their admins are pretty slow to implement building requests. I have a document prepared with about another 20-25 buildings to request before Boston is up to date but it gives a nice snapshot of the taller buildings currently proposed in the city:I love how the map in the original post on this thread is just a snapshot of the construction scene from 10 years ago. If I ever catch up with what's going on again, I promise I'll try to overhaul the map and update it. It'll probably take a while to get acquainted with all the new projects though.
The full discussion starts at Post 502 here:
Bulfinch Triangle Infill & Small Projects
155 Portland St Abutters Meeting Proposed 9 story addition to the Onyx Hotel at 155 Portland St.
archboston.com
NorthshoreCity
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It's only missing one proposal, but the map now includes all under construction and proposed buildings in Boston. I've excluded some of the Dorchester Bay City buildings as they're just too far out but other than that it provides a great visual to how saturated the market is with high rise proposals. 141 proposed high rise buildings yet only 27 under construction. Only one high rise building has been cancelled in the last year so it'll be interesting to see where things go from here.
As part of this process I've also been updating the building data for much of Boston so it can serve as a more accurate reference point for heights. Lastly, I'm updating maps for the Greater Boston Area but that will continue to take time. I'll update this thread as more maps from neighboring cities are completed!
As part of this process I've also been updating the building data for much of Boston so it can serve as a more accurate reference point for heights. Lastly, I'm updating maps for the Greater Boston Area but that will continue to take time. I'll update this thread as more maps from neighboring cities are completed!
NorthshoreCity
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Brookline map is updated with existing buildings and proposals: