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 iii 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 David Ellis offers five critical resources to pursue this mission: Christopher Gabrieli People: Reaching out to graduate and professional stu- Ira Jackson dents from throughout Greater Boston, the Rappaport 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, Jerry Rappaport applied research, working papers, and case studies on a wide range of issues. Benjamin Taylor Susan Tracy Forums: The Rappaport Institute convenes forums of all 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: (617) 495-5091 Fax: (617) 496-1722 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 he editor and authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of T 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. ix Preface ECENT POLICY DEBATES over the best way to address human prob- Rlems can be summarized in three words: People or places? The “people” side of the debate says that government policy should provide as many choices as possible for individuals to pursue their dreams for family, jobs, education, and community. In this restless age—with con- stant revolutions in family makeup, ethnicity, business, and, of course, infor- mation—people need to be ever ready to remake themselves. People need to make meaningful choices in all aspects of their lives. The “places” side of the debate says that individuals’ choices are only as good as the communities where they live. It is fine to demand that people retool themselves many times over their lifetimes. But people’s choices are affected by their community’s homes, schools, parks, places of worship, labor organizations, little leagues, and political parties. In reality, both sides are right. Countless individual decisions determine the health of a community, but no individual can succeed without the intri- cate webs of cooperation and competition that are made possible by place. Over the past year, the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston has strived to develop an agenda that responds to both sides of this debate. This book is one result of this effort. Every year, the Rappaport Institute will pub- lish an overview of the issues and challenges facing the region. In even-num- bered years, the Governing Greater Boston series will explore the politics and policy of place; in odd-numbered years, the series will explore the poli- tics and policy of people. The goal of the Governing Greater Boston series is to provide a com- prehensive, reliable, balanced “field