Governing Greater Boston

275 Pages·2002·0.67 MB·English

Governing Greater Boston
The Politics and Policy of Place
Charles C. Euchner, Editor
2002 Edition
The Press at the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Copyright © 2002 by Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
ISBN 0-9718427-0-1
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Where is Greater Boston? Framing Regional Issues . . . . . . 1
Charles C. Euchner
The Sprawling of Greater Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Behind the dispersal • The region’s new diversity • Reviving urban centers
Improving the Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Comprehensive approaches • Targeting specific ills • Community-building
and the environment • Maintenance for a better environment
Getting Around the Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
New corridors, new challenges • Unequal transportation options •
The limits of transit • The key to transit: nodes and density
Housing All Bostonians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Not enough money, too many regulations • Community resistance to housing
Planning a Fragmented Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The complexity of cities and regions • The appeal of comprehensive planning •
‘Emergence regionalism’. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Chapter 2 Thinking Like a Region:
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . 31
James C. O’Connell
Boston’s Development as a Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Controversies over regionalism in history • The debate over metropolitan
government
The Parts of the Whole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
The subregions of Greater Boston • Greater Boston’s localism
Greater Boston’s Regional Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
The Players in Greater Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Policy Options for Regionalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
State politics and regionalism • Regional planning agencies •
Using local government for regional purposes
Developing a Regional Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
A Strategic Regionalism for Greater Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
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iv Governing Greater Boston
Chapter 3 The Region as a Natural Environment:
Integrating Environmental and Urban Spaces . . . . . . . . . 65
Laura A. Siegel
The elements of environmental policy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
The quality of the air • Power plants • Logan Airport • Cars • Buses
The Quality of the Land. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Brownfields • Urban parks • Biodiversity
Toxic Materials and the Land. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Recycling • Toxic materials • Mercury
Preserving Water Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Boston Harbor cleanup • Combined sewer overflows • Charles River cleanup •
Other rivers • Water shortages • Drinking water quality
Environmental Actors in Greater Boston. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
The federal government • The Commonwealth • Local actors and advocates
Policy options for the environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Transportation and the environment • Airport options • Intercity rail •
Smart growth • City and town planning • Community preservation •
Zoning reform • Environmental justice
Making Greater Boston Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Chapter 4 Moving Greater Boston:
Transportation Challenges of the Region . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Terrance J. Regan
Transportation Issues Facing the Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Demographic trends • Roadways and congestion • The Central Artery, now
and later • Public transit within Greater Boston • The investment debate:
expansion versus maintenance • Intercity travel • Freight transportation systems
Key Transportation Actors in Greater Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Major Policy Options for the Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Toward a New Vision for Regional Transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Chapter 5 More Than Shelter:
Housing the People of Greater Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Gretchen Weismann
The Double Whammy of High Prices and Low Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Dimensions of the Price Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Elements of Housing Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Land • Funding and financing • Regulatory barriers to housing •
The political and community context
The Actors in Housing Policy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
The federal government • The state government • Local governments •
Advocates and organizers • Development and financing entities
Table of Contents v
Policy Options for Housing in Greater Boston. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Land • Address speculation • Assembly help • Trusts and swaps •
Cleanup and reuse of existing land • Smaller lots for housing • Inputs •
Financing • Trust fund approach • More spending at the local level •
Indirect subsidies of affordable housing • Institutional master plans •
Improving the regulatory system • State code streamlining • Local zoning
reforms • Public housing improvements • Special cases • Better mandates •
Landlord-tenant relations • Improving the community context • Planning
resources • Institutional housing construction • Education
The Challenge of Housing in Greater Boston. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Chapter 6 Planning the Fragmented Metropolis:. . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Acting Regionally and Locally
Anthony Flint
Issues Facing the Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Spreading out • ‘Quality of life’ and its discontents • The problem of ‘tax
farming’ • Inequity among cities and towns
Recent Experiences in Planning Greater Boston. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
The Boston Renaissance • The challenge of Assembly Square • Experiments
in small-scale regionalism • Experiments in financing • The importance of
community process
The Actors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Policy Options for Planning Greater Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Strategic Action • Toolkits for cities and towns • Getting out of the way
Toward a New Regime of Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Board of Advisors The Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston,
based at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Charles D. Baker, Jr. Harvard University, works with universities, public
James Brett agencies, and other organizations in the region to
Karl E. Case improve the governance of Greater Boston. The Institute
offers five critical resources to pursue this mission:
David Ellis
People: Reaching out to graduate and professional stu-
Christopher Gabrieli
dents from throughout Greater Boston, the Rappaport
Ira Jackson
Institute coordinates internship and fellowship pro-
Max Kennedy
grams that place the “best and the brightest” in mean-
Thomas Keane ingful policy positions in government agencies.
Marcia Lamb
Research: The Rappaport Institute coordinates a wide
Vivien Li range of research projects that provide useful informa-
Glenn Loury tion and analysis. In addition to the Governing Greater
Patricia McGovern Boston series, the Institute issues other major reports,
applied research, working papers, and case studies on a
Jerry Rappaport
wide range of issues.
Benjamin Taylor
Forums:The Rappaport Institute convenes forums of all
Susan Tracy
types and sizes to engage the community in open-ended
Elaine Ullian
conversations about the public policy challenges we face
Sam Bass Warner, Jr. in the next generation.
Martha Weinberg
Information: The Rappaport Institute web site provides
the foundation of a comprehensive information resource
for public policy in Greater Boston. The site (www.ksg
.harvard.edu/rappaport) provides useful information
about the region’s public policy projects and organiza-
tions, as well as useful original research, calendars of
events, and links to Boston-related research.
Training: Building on the Kennedy School’s tradition of
executive training, the Rappaport Institute offers work-
shops and other programs for public officials, stake-
holder groups, journalists, and others.
Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
www.ksg.harvard/rappaport
Alan A. Altshuler, Director
Charles C. Euchner, Executive Director
Shelley W. Kilday, Assistant Director
Ashley G. Lanfer, Research Associate
Jean M. Capizzi, Staff Assistant

Acknowledgements
T
he editor and authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of
Alan Altshuler, Barry Bluestone, Sandra Hackman, Bennett
Heart, Thomas Keane, Tracy Lawrence, James Levitt, David Luberoff, David
Mohler, Luisa Paiewonsky, David Soule, Sam Bass Warner, Jr., Jay
Wickersham, and numerous others for their reviews of chapters and other
assistance throughout this project. The editor also thanks the Metropolitan
Area Planning Council for making maps of the region available. Thanks also
to Fred Lyford and his team at Puritan Press in Hollis, New Hampshire.
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