In MAPC’s little corner of the wider world of water, we are involved in many projects that support these goals, and are currently gearing up to take a lead role in a new outreach effort in Massachusetts–building support and awareness around the need to finance improvements to our water infrastructure throughout the state.

Many of our water systems in Massachusetts were built in the early 20th century and are in need of updating. Photo courtesy of MWRA

Raising the cost of anything is never terribly popular, but in the case of water infrastructure in this state, it simply can’t be avoided. We need to help the general public understand both the dire need to update our old and decaying systems, and to be more aware of how our public water systems enable us to be healthy  happy, and prosperous.

The cost of water as long been undervalued and under-priced in comparison to the importance it holds. Making sure that we always have clean drinking water that is free from harmful chemicals and pollutants is probably the most obvious advantage to improving our water systems–who can forget the panic/disruption that was felt throughout our region in 2010, when a pipe leak forced a “boil water” order for days? Sometimes it takes a scare like that one to realize how reliant we are on a well-functioning system that brings readily-available drinking water to our homes. Improving our water systems also helps to protect our environment–helping to reduce groundwater runoff, protect floodzones, and maintain wildlife habitats.

Another factor influenced by our water infrastructure is our economy. The ability of commercial and residential development to take place in some areas often hinges on an accessible water supply. We are “leaving money on the table” when cities and towns have to turn down development opportunities because of a lack of such resources.

In the coming months, MAPC will be looking at opportunities for helping to spread the word about the importance of taking action and raising necessary funds that are needed to bring our water infrastructure up to date. Stay tuned for upcoming opportunities by emailing Senior Environmental Planner Julie Conroy at  jconroy@mapc.org

Often regarded as a planner’s playground, SimCity ranks as one of the most influential and best-selling computer games in history. The task is simple: the player, who acts as mayor, must be the master planner of a city; manage its municipal services; maintain the infrastructure; and balance the budget to achieve the ultimate goal of keeping its citizens happy and healthy.

Much like real-world cities, the resilience of these metropolises is tested at the mercy of random disasters. Unlike a real city, past iterations of the game had only superficial representation of the city’s daily activities, which the new SimCity 5 has greatly improved upon. Now, each and every Sim leads a discrete life, observable at the unit level by simply zooming in, while all the rest of the hustle and bustle – traffic, sewage, pollution, crime, etc., can be tracked in real-time at a push of a button.

The level of detail SimCity 5 has managed to accomplish is as close as it gets to real life: every item on the screen – a trip a vehicle makes, a Sim walking on the sidewalk – has purpose and impact. In fact, mayors will find that their constituents have opinions about their surroundings, and not afraid to express them.

SimCity 5 also introduces the concept of shared municipal services by opening it up to a multiplayer format—no strange concept to MAPC. Our regionalization programs have shown great successes in helping municipalities increase efficiency and decrease expenses through collective purchasing of emergency, police, and fire department vehicles and equipment, as well as collaborative clean energy programs.

However, if Jane Jacobs had the chance to play mayor in SimCity 5 today, she might not be pleased by some of its new features: the game is car-oriented, with subway systems and bike lanes eliminated; density is determined by the type of road built; and despite the urban-centric settings, mixed-use developments are nowhere in sight. As one blogger pointed out, the game “simulates 1950′s suburbia in 2013.”

Like our world, no SimCity is perfect, and no one will ever “beat” the game by reaching a plateau of stability. SimCities are crushed overnight by terrible earthquakes or Godzilla attacks, and must learn to build again; much like in our real city, where we continually find the need to adapt to new challenges, like stronger storms and rising seas.

And so the planners play on.

–Christine Madore, MAPC’s Administrative Assistant and future Urban Planner

The project began with a field trip to Malden in January, 2013, which gave students a chance to walk around the downtown area; meet with the Mayor’s office, redevelopment authority, and local business owners. Currently, students are in the process of engaging with a variety of different groups in the Malden community—business owners, property owners and developers; members of the Arabic, Haitian, and Chinese communities; seniors and teens. The group is also taking advantage of Malden’s active social media presence to publicize upcoming events that target these groups.

Engagement activities include open houses, group meetings and interviews to garner as much feedback from community members as possible. Additionally, the students are running an online survey (please feel free to participate!) and conducting street interviews in and around Malden Square.

The next step is for students to analyze all the information gathered from their outreach and create recommendations for the city.  Finally, the project will culminate in an open house presentation of their findings in Malden in late April. Everyone interested in the event is welcome to attend. For more information on the project, and for updates be sure to visit the Plan Malden Square Facebook page, or contact us at PlanMaldenSquare@gmail.com.

The Online Participation Team: Charlie Brennan, TJ McCourt & Lydia Scott, Masters in Urban Planning, Class of 2014

Staff from MAPC guided the discussion on successes and challenges to agricultural practice as well as determining ways that the agency might be helpful for the farming community in this area. A preliminary set of maps showing existing and potential agricultural opportunities was presented. The event also featured Keynote Speaker Jonathan (Jay) Healy, USDA State Director for MA/CT/RI Rural Development.

One farmer in attendance–who had appeared to have started out somewhat skeptical of our project–approached me after the event with tears and stated that it was truly the first time she felt heard as a farmer. I think that sums it up for me/ I was so happy to hear that we accomplished a very important goal of making connections with the agricultural community and making it known that we are here to help.

Next steps will include reaching out to farmers and local officials to continue discussions and determine action items for our project partners.

About the project:

MAPC’s MAGIC subregion, a group of thirteen communities northwest of Boston, received funding from the Sustainable Communities grant to develop a program that will increase the economic viability of farming in this area of Greater Boston.

This program will likely include agricultural commissions to advocate for local farms, marketing for new agricultural operations, and regulatory changes to allow for diversified operations (such as agro-tourism and “value-added processing”– means for farmers to capture a larger share of the consumer food dollar).

MAPC is seeking the expertise of project partners for assistance with multiple components of the project, including the Massachusetts Farm Bureau, Massachusetts Association of Agricultural Commissions (including all ag commissions in the Subregion), Sudbury Valley Trustees, Land for Good, Conservation Law Foundation, Tufts New Entry Sustainable Farming, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, and numerous farm owners throughout the subregion. Partnering communities include Bolton, Boxborough, Concord, Lincoln, Littleton and Stow.

–Julie Conroy,  MAPC’s  Senior Environmental Planner and MAGIC Subregional Coordinator 

Allison Phillips, a Junior studying Environmental Design at UMass Amherst, filled us in on the path she’s been taking since receiving our Charles Eliot Scholarship in 2010:

1. What are you currently studying in school?

I came into UMass Amherst declared as a Landscape Architecture major, and stayed in that major for my first two years. At the beginning of my junior year (this year), I chose to switch into the Environmental Design major, with a concentration in horticulture.

2. How did you decide what you wanted to study?

I was first introduced to the Landscape Architecture field by my brother-in-law, who graduated from the UMass Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning department in 2007. He noticed my passion for art as well as for the outdoors and during my junior year of high school, he brought me to UMass Amherst and showed me around the LARP department.

After visiting the school, I decided immediately that I wanted to be a part of the Landscape Architecture major, and applied early decision to UMass. After two years of being in the major, I decided that the very closely related major of Environmental Design would be a better fit for me, and I switched.

I felt as though the Landscape Architecture program was no longer the right field for me because the field is transitioning from a hand drawn art and drafting base to a computer animated design base, and I realized that I definitely do not want to pursue a job in which the majority of the work will be required to be done with a computer.

3.   What is your favorite class/subject/student group

I have really enjoyed every single one of the classes that I have taken as a requirement for my major. (Many of the Landscape Architecture requirements are the same as Environmental Design).

Though I do not have a specific class that has been my favorite, two things that all of my favorite classes have had in common are the theme of sustainability, especially in regards to human behavior and patterns, and the incorporation of some form of artwork. Some of these classes have included Sustainable Cities, City Planning, Patterns and Processes in the Landscape, Writing in Environmental Design, and Graphics in Environmental Design. I also really loved the studio classes that I took while in the Landscape Architecture major, because we got to design and build our own creations.

4.   What do you hope to do in the future as part of your career?

At this point in my life I am still very unsure as to what exactly I would like to do with my degree, but I do know that I would definitely like my future job to involve some form art, themes of sustainability, and hopefully it will be some kind of public government position, like working for a city or town.

5.   Any advice to high school students who are considering going into the planning field?

My advice for students considering going into the planning field would be for them to not pay attention to what people say about the current job market, or make any big decisions regarding whatever state it may be in, and just stick to pursuing whatever field concentration makes them happy.

I say this because students are definitely confronted with a lot of positive and negative encouragement to pursue a generally lucrative or easy major, and more often than not, people forget the importance of finding a field that makes them happy. So in short, I guess I would just say; try to remember to stick to your gut instinct.

Check out some examples of Alison’s school projects below!

Do you know a student who might be interested in receiving $500 towards their college tuition? Spread the word–applications are due April 26, 2013!

These grants will go towards projects that advance our goals for increasing opportunities for physical activity in communities; providing more smoke-free housing; and increasing options for healthy foods.

For example, the town of Carlisle will apply grant funds  towards the education of landlords, tenants, and condominium associations on their options for tobacco bans, as well as the impact of tobacco smoke exposure, in order to increase the availability of smoke-free housing for Carlisle seniors living in multi-unit buildings.

The towns of Watertown, Woburn, and Lexington are all implementing Safe Routes to School initiatives that will improve the safety walking routes to school, as well as increase knowledge for parents and students about walking as an option for school transportation.

In addition to these communities, grants have also been awarded to the towns of Bedford and Tewksbury.

-Kate Ito, Public Health Research Analyst at MAPC

A couple of colleagues and I just returned from the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Kansas City, Missouri! I always come back jazzed from all the people that I meet and all the cool community engagement ideas I hear about. This year was no different.

I found inspiration in all the indoor parklets that were displayed for people to hang out at, the focus on working with art and cultural community partners and having visioning plans come to life with projects such as “Better Block KC,” a one day event where they changed the streetscape on Grand Ave in Kansas City! This would be great to do in the MAPC region!

Take a look for your self…

And to get the full flavor, check out this Tedx talk from the creator of The Better Block Project that has created a domino effect of revitalizing neighborhood blocks one demonstration at a time.

- Emily Torres-Cullinane, Community Liaison at MAPC

MassDOT officials spoke about reforms that have been implemented, and the needs for investments so that the system we have today is maintained, and the system that the state needs for the future is attainable. Mayor Driscoll of Salem moderated a panel of business and municipal leaders who all agree that a strong transportation system is vital to a strong economy, and requires adequate funding to be realized.

This forum was one in a series of meetings intended to examine the importance of transportation investments, specifically the connection between a 21st century transportation system and a vibrant economy and way of life.

MAPC and its partners are working to build support among business, municipal, and civic leaders for a statewide, comprehensive transportation funding solution that serves all modes of travel and all users.

To learn more about these efforts, please visit the transportation finance reform page on MAPC’s website.

Our guests also had the opportunity to earn raffle tickets at different stations throughout the night, and entered those tickets in a free raffle with some great prizes, many of which were generously donated by local vendors.

The winners of that raffle are….

Framed Hubway Visualization - Kenya Thompson

“Celebrating Our Region” gift basket, including products from Teddy peanut butter, Sprindrift soda, Cuppow, and the MBTA - Lisa Capone, Cara Ferrenton

Equal or Better Documentary + MBTA Clutch - Nate Peyton

Equal Exchange Gift Basket - Marie (no last name)

Hubway Annual Membership - David Crossman, Emma Wicker

Hubway T-Shirt and 3 Day Passes - Armin Akhavan, Talbot

Rethinking a Lot (signed by author Eran Ben-Joseph) - Cecilia (no last name)

MBTA Gift Pack 1 (2 Clutches, Green and Red Line toy trains, MBTA Mug) – Ben Irwin

MBTA Gift Pack 2 (clutch + Red Line toy train) – James Norton

MBTA Commuter Rail Time Scale Map - Noah Koretz

MBTA Subway Time Scale Map - Robin Bergstrom

MAPC Region Population Graphic - Mike McInnis

MAPC 50^th Anniversary Jigsaw Puzzle - Ian Jakus, Jieping Li

Winners will be notified by phone or email with details on picking up your prizes. Congratulations!

Special thank you to Spindrift Soda, Equal Exchange, Cuppow, Wardmaps LLC / MBTAgifts, Roslindale Main Streets, Kristopher Carter (of Equal or Better documentary), Hubway, Eran Ben-Joseph (of Rethinking a Lot book), MAPC’s Peter Dunn (stonebrowndesign.com)