The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), formerly the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), is a

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

public agency that serves as the municipal planning and development agency for

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, working on both housing and commercial developments. As an agency concerned with

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

, the BPDA does not consider requests for

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

variances from individual property owners. These are heard by the city's own Zoning Board of Appeals, a seven-person body appointed by the Mayor of Boston. Some consider the BPDA's roles as both real estate owner and developer, and approval authority over private development projects, to be a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

Projects

One of the first projects the BRA took on was the demolition of the West End of Boston, in an infamous

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

project that generated a considerable negative reaction locally and across the country. At the same time, nineteenth-century buildings around Scollay Square were demolished to make way for the new Government Center.FUP, web
Many consider the finished project (which includes Boston City Hall) an eyesore, and the surrounding large brick plaza as an uncomfortable place to be.Government Center Boston
/ref> Another urban renewal project was the Prudential Tower development over the Boston and Albany Railroad right-of-way in

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...

; as part of this project, Mechanics Hall on Huntington Avenue was taken by the city using

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

and demolished in 1959. The BRA also collaborated with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy on various development projects such as the Rose Kennedy Greenway, which was developed atop the Big Dig. The BRA owns real estate throughout the city and together with community participation through planning initiatives, issues Requests for Proposals as part of the land disposition process in order to achieve neighborhood-based community development goals. Another example of the BRA's work involves collaboration with the State Coastal Zone Management Department for waterfront planning and redevelopment of privately owned and MassPort-owned properties. An example of municipal harbor planning involves the "East Boston Municipal Harbor Plan" where properties of varied ownership along the waterfront are currently being developedPlanning Initiatives – Boston Redevelopment Authority
and Fort Point Channel development. The BRA has also undertaken improvements on Columbia Road in Dorchester, a narrow stretch of green space that Frederick Law Olmsted once envisioned as The Dorchesterway, the final link in the Emerald Necklace park system. Heart of the City Project, Center for Urban and Regional Policy,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and Northeastern University

History

Officially a "public body politic and corporate," the BRA was established by the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

and the Boston City Council in 1957, superseding the authority of the Boston Housing Authority. Its primary goal is to work with Boston businesses and developers in order to provide direction for development in the city of Boston. Its statutory authority was set forth in the Massachusetts General Lawsbr>chapter 121B, section 4
and amended by the Session Laws of 1960, chapter 652, section 12. The agency's redevelopment authority includes the jurisdiction to buy and sell real estate, acquire real estate through

, and grant tax concessions to encourage commercial and residential development.BRA History
/ref> On September 27, 2016, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh changed the name of the development agency from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA). This change was part of a broader goal to make city government more transparent and to put a friendlier face to a bureaucratic agency that rules upon major construction in the city. Michelle Wu promised during her successful mayoral campaign to abolish the BPDA. In February 2022, she asked the city council to terminate some of the agency's planning urban renewal districts.Wu says she’ll wind down Boston’s urban renewal districts. Here’s what that means.
/ref>

Directors of the BRA

*Kane Simonian (1957–1960) * Edward J. Logue (1960–1967) *Francis X. Cuddy (1967–1968) * Hale Champion (1968–1969) *John D. Warner (1969–1971) *Robert T. Kenney (1971–1977) *Robert F. Walsh (1977–1978) *Robert J. Ryan (1978–1984) *Stephen Coyle (1984–1992) *Paul L. Barrett (1992–1994) * Marisa Lago (1994–1997) *Thomas N. O’Brien (1997–1999) *Mark Maloney (2000–2007) *John F. Palmieri (2007–2011) * Peter Meade (2011–2014) * Brian P. Golden (2014–2022) *James Arthur Jemison II (2022–present)

References

External links

Google news archive
Articles related to the BRA
Flickr
Photo of Muhammad Ali-Salaam, Deputy Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2008
Flickr
Photo of Kairos Shen, Director of Planning, Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2010
Flickr
Photo of Clarence Jones, Chairman of Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2010 Urban planning in the United States Organizations based in Boston Government of Boston Government agencies established in 1957 1957 establishments in Massachusetts {{DEFAULTSORT:Boston Planning and Development Agency Boston Government Agencies