Planning
The Self-Driving Car Could Eliminate the Parking Garage
Amy Korte was interviewed by the Boston Globe about how autonomous cars and ride sharing will impact facilities in the future. Her recent research focuses on the future design of parking structures; as the automated technology becomes more of a reality for travelers, it’s critical to design parking facilities that can transform over time. In early years, parking layouts can…
Themes in Campus Planning
As universities and colleges are changing their approach to planning their campus facilities, the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Boston Panel Discussion “Knowledge is Power: Higher Ed Trends & Projects” on January 28 could not have come at a better time. The morning event featured four panelists from Boston-area institutions including: Janet Chrisos, Deputy Director at the Massachusetts State…
Cambridge Net Zero Breakfast
Join me as the USGBC MA’s Advocacy Committee welcomes Susanne Rasmussen, Director of Transportation and Environmental Planning for the City of Cambridge. Susanne will be speaking about Cambridge’s Net Zero Plan. Cambridge is leading the way for a net zero future in Massachusetts, and their policy can provide ideas for other municipalities to create successful plans for their communities. Listen as we discuss…
Update from CitySquare
At Arrowstreet, many of our complex projects develop over a long period of time. Our work on CitySquare in Worcester, which is taking shape now with the development of a public garage, housing and hotel, began in 2004. As the master planner and architect for the 20-acre revitalization project, our involvement has continued through the latest phases with the design…
Successful Public Spaces Are All About Edges
In the past few days I have attended three presentations about designing successful public spaces, two at ABX and one sponsored by Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance. I learned a new word, thigmotactic. A strict definition is something like contact-loving, but in the context of placemaking it is generally used to mean edge-seeking. When selecting a place to stop and rest,…
Adaptive Migration in Urban Planning
Last week, I attended the 3rd annual ACCO Rising Seas Summit, which brought more than 300 professionals together to highlight the interrelationships between sea level rise, climate change, and extreme events. One topic discussed that is particularly interesting was adaptive migration, which looks at the affects an influx of new residents would have on an outside community if they were…
Jordan Zimmermann presenting at ABX 2015
How resilient is East Boston? The Urban Land Institute (ULI) in conjunction with Neighborhood of Affordable Housing with the financial support of the Kresge Foundation, have conducted a Technical Assistance Program (TAP) to study the impacts that climate change has on transportation, utilities, and planning. Find out what they learned from Arrowstreet’s Jordan Zimmermann, along with Michelle Landers, Phil Giffee,…
Edward Mazria at the BSA
Monday night, I attended a talk by Edward Mazria hosted by the Boston Society of Architects. Mazria is the founder of Architecture 2030, an organization which has created a path to reduce carbon emissions so that we do not reach the point of no return on climate change. Architecture 2030 promotes solutions to climate change through the design of the…
ULI Boston TAP at ABX
At today’s Arrowstreet Update, our bi-weekly office meeting, Associate Jordan Zimmermann presented the work she has been doing with the ULI Boston TAP (technical assistance panel) program in East Boston. Through the Kresge Foundation, NOAH (Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, East Boston), received a $100,000 grant to fund this research. The TAP had several goals to assist NOAH, including identifying community…
Planning for Resilience in East Boston
Last week, I was invited to attend a grant planning orientation hosted by The Kresge Foundation in Berkeley, California. Recently, East Boston was selected to receive a planning grant for climate resilience in low-income communities around the country. The grant was awarded to Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) in East Boston and was supported by the Urban Land Institute. As…