Summary & Goals
Guided by Imagine Boston 2030, PLAN: Mattapan is a City planning initiative that seeks to ensure that we preserve wisely, enhance equitably, and grow inclusively. Through these three principles of “preserve, enhance, and grow,” the City’s planning team will work with the community to create a comprehensive vision for the Mattapan planning area and guide future growth and investment.
PLAN: Mattapan has worked, and will continue to work closely with the community to review past planning efforts, and identify needs and opportunities for improvements which will support the long-term equitable growth and sustainability of the neighborhood. Focuses will include, though are not limited to, economic development (jobs and business) and the creation of transit-oriented market-rate and affordable housing growth while preserving the neighborhood’s character and unique attributes.
One important result of our conversations with the community is the creation of the following vision statement to guide PLAN: Mattapan.
"Strengthen the existing culture and stability of the community by supporting affordable housing tenure, creating opportunities for businesses to thrive, and enhancing connections to improve the neighborhood’s experience accessing jobs and spaces where people gather."
Learn more about our most recent engagement, and our 2018–2021 engagement.
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PLAN: Mattapan Draft
On October 3, the planning team released its Draft of PLAN: Mattapan for public review and feedback. You can access a PDF version of the Draft of PLAN: Mattapan in English, Haitian Creole, and Spanish. The PLAN documents Mattapan’s priorities and its vision for the future to proactively shape development and investment when it comes to the neighborhood. PLAN: Mattapan’s vision for the neighborhood’s future is grounded in its past and present as it charts a more equitable future.
Physical copies of the Draft of PLAN: Mattapan in English, Haitian Creole, and Spanish will be made available for reading at the Mattapan Branch of the Boston Public Library. Requests for printed copies of the Draft of PLAN: Mattapan can be made to [email protected].
Existing Conditions Report
The Existing Conditions Report summarizes the comprehensive research that the planning team did to better understand Mattapan's past and present. The data and analysis within this report, alongside community feedback, shed light on strengths and challenges within the neighborhood, informing the recommendations found in final PLAN.
PLAN: Mattapan Public Art Project
The Boston Planning & Development Agency (“BPDA”) commissioned temporary murals in the Mattapan neighborhood. As a part of the PLAN: Mattapan initiative, the PLAN: Mattapan Public Art Project supports the creation of temporary public art in the Mattapan neighborhood. Two public art projects were completed as a part of this effort:
1. Call for Artists
The BPDA will coordinate and collaborate with the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (“MOAC”) during the Call for Artists Process and selection of the design for installation after the artist or team of artist selection. The BPDA has budgeted $15,000 for the Mattapan Public Art Project for mural installation at 1531 Blue Hill Avenue, Post 16, also known as the Carter Post.
The Mattapan Teen Center was identified as a recipient of the funds because of their past experience working with youth to produce art. The murals were produced in collaboration with youth artists on the exterior of the Mattapan Teen Center. The mural was completed and unveiled on May 14, 2021. To see photos of the mural, including its process, visit the Mattapan Teen Center Instagram account.
Community Engagement
For a brief overview of what PLAN: Mattapan has been doing, view the Community Updates:
Upcoming Engagement
Stay tuned for our next community engagement!
Most Recent Engagement
PLAN: Mattapan Draft Release - Public Meeting
Thursday, October 20, 2022 | 6:00 PM–7:30 PM
Presentation | Feedback and Notes | Recording
PLAN: Mattapan Report at the GMNC Monthly Meeting
Monday, October 3, 2022 | 6:30 PM–8:00 PM
The PLAN: Mattapan team attended Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council’s October monthly meeting to unveil the Draft of PLAN: Mattapan. Attendees learned about some of the high-level aspects of PLAN: Mattapan and its recommendations organized in three geographic types: Nodes, Corridors, and Residential Fabric. The presentation of the Draft of PLAN: Mattapan was followed by a question & answer session.
Presentation - English | Presentacion Lanzamiento Preliminar para GMNC - Espanol | Prezantasyon Piblikayson Pwoje GMNC - Kreyol Ayisyen | Feedback and Notes | Recording
2018–2021 Engagement
The BPDA hosted the Open House Kick-Off for PLAN: Mattapan at the Mildred Ave Community Center in October 2018. Along with nearly 60 community members, this public meeting marked the beginning of creating a long term (10–20 year) plan and vision for Mattapan. Over the course of the following year, these conversations continued between the BPDA and engaged Mattapan residents, at nearly 10 public meetings. Two very important parts of the PLAN were determined from these meetings. First was the identification of 5 main themes that were determined to be worth studying in more detail: Jobs & Businesses, Open Space & Climate Resilience, Neighborhood Identity, Housing, and Mobility. The other important result of these conversations with the community was the creation of a vision statement to guide PLAN: Mattapan.
After nearly 4 years of process and over 100 engagements with the community, the PLAN: Mattapan team released its Draft of PLAN: Mattapan. The vision state was a driving force behind the recommendations in the document. However, PLAN: Mattapan is a flexible working plan, which holds the community’s values at its forefront and presents adaptable strategies of implementation for Mattapan’s future.
Click the meeting title below for more information and for all associated meeting materials.
- Virtual Chat with a Planner | June 22, 2021
- Height & Use: A Corridors Activity | September 23, 2020
- Revisiting the Future of Mattapan's Corridors | August 5, 2020
- Virtual Chat with a Planner | June 3, 2020
- The Future of Mattapan's Corridors | February 26, 2020
- Deep Dive Session: Mattapan's Existing Housing Conditions, Programs, and Policies | January 22, 2020
- Focus Area Deep Dive: Implementing the Vision | December 17, 2019
- Where We've Been; Where We're Going | November 13, 2019
- Getting Around in Mattapan | June 25, 2019
- Haitian Community Conversation & Update | May 23, 2019
- Goal Setting for Our Neighborhood | March 21, 2019
- City Resource Fair | February 9, 2019
- Envisioning Your Neighborhood | December 10, 2018
- Open House Kick-Off | October 25, 2018
