News & Updates

Urban renewal public engagement process moves into next phase

Apr 17, 2015

This week, the BRA wrapped up the kickoff phase of its urban renewal public engagement process with community members who attended a thoughtful discussion about the tools and uses of urban renewal at a meeting at Madison Park High School in Roxbury on Tuesday. BRA Director Brian Golden and senior staff members were joined by District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson and Mayor Walsh’s Chief of Economic Development John Barros.

The kickoff meetings, two of which were held at City Hall and in the South End prior to the gathering in Roxbury, were intended to introduce people to what urban renewal is, how the set of tools has been used historically in Boston and the Commonwealth, and how the powers enable to BRA to positively affect development in the city. Over a hundred people attended the three meetings. A special thanks goes out to all of those who have engaged in the process thus far!

Officials from the BRA will update the Boston City Council next week on the progress around the urban renewal extension effort. The next round of public participation will center on community workshops in urban renewal districts across the city. These meetings will serve as a platform for the public to give feedback about how the goals of the individual urban renewal plan areas should be updated. The workshops are expected to take place in June and July, and a schedule will be set over the next several weeks.

People are encouraged to stay engaged or get involved in the conversation about urban renewal by visiting www.bostonurbanrenewal.org and by signing up for email notifications about upcoming community meetings and events. There is a commenting feature on the website that allows visitors to submit suggestion and ask questions about urban renewal. People can also tweet thoughts to @BostonRedevelop using the hashtag #URBoston.

Last December, the BRA launched an effort to seek ten-year extensions for 14 of the 16 expiring urban renewal plan areas in the city. Urban renewal began as a post-World War II federal program to address widespread blight and disinvestment in America’s cities. In recent decades, it has evolved as a more nuanced tool for redevelopment and revitalization, managed by states and municipalities, to spur economic development in urban areas across the country. Boston is one of 31 other cities and towns in the Commonwealth that has active urban renewal plans.

Curious to learn more about the public engagement process? Read more here.


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