Date:  Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Somerville Public Library (79 Highland Ave., Somerville, MA)

A free community screening of two 1978 documentaries about cities in transition, both filmed in Massachusetts will take place at the Somerville Public Library.

Coordinated by Nellie Kluz as part of a community benefit for a Somerville Arts Council LCC fellowship grant.

MISSION HILL AND THE MIRACLE OF BOSTON
by Richard Broadman (60 min)

“The story of what happened to Mission Hill is the story of many of America’s older ethnic neighborhoods. Seventy years ago, Mission Hill was an Irish neighborhood of homes and small stores in which people lived near their schools, their church, and their shopping area. But between 1940 and 1980 it changed: thousands of units of public housing were built and decayed there. Nearby hospitals expanded, displacing people from their homes. Developers and speculators bought and sold property and built twenty-story apartment houses. A new, poor population and an affluent professional population arrived to compete for parts of the old neighborhood.”

http://www.der.org/films/mission-hill.html

IF IT FITS
by John Marshall (58 minutes)

“The once thriving industrial town of Haverhill, Massachusetts on the Merrimack River now resembles, in the words of one of the film’s subjects, “a ghost town where you expect to see tumbleweeds come rolling down Main Street.” This film examines a dying industrial town and its politicians’ search for votes over such issues as municipal spending, rising taxes, the revitalization of depressed areas, and attracting new industry. The film’s central event is the 1976 Mayoral election.”

http://www.der.org/films/if-it-fits.html

Date: October 12, 12:00pm-7:30pm and October 13, 8:30am-3:00pm
Location: Annie E. Casey Foundation (710 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD)

Work in Older Cities is moving beyond a swift response to challenging economic times. Forward-thinking funders and practitioners are beginning to see success as new strategies designed to promote sustained prosperity in Older Cities take root. Explore how innovation is at work in Baltimore and how the lessons of the recession are being used to change the way economically challenged metros approach the future at the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities’ 5th Annual Convening of the Restoring Prosperity in Older Industrial Cities working group.

The convening will speak to a wide range of funder interests in the areas of environmental protection, workforce development, neighborhood revitalization, land use and transportation, and provide both learning opportunities and time for strategy discussion. The agenda is planned to advance three Restoring Prosperity working group priorities: supporting peer-to-peer learning, facilitating funder leadership, and supporting collective action.

Agenda:

Oct. 12 – Site visit and bus tour includes:  Background Briefing from Baltimore Community Foundation and Baltimore City staff; stops at Clipper Mill (older industrial site); Real Food Farm (Urban Ag and economic development) and City Arts Design School (integrating employment and neighborhood investment).

The tour will be followed by a reception from 6pm – 7:30pm (location TBD).

Oct. 13 –

• 8:30 am – Meet and greet (light breakfast available)
• 9:15 am – Opening conversation
• 10:30 am – Working group business meeting
• 11:15 am – Small group discussions (Focus on Land Use/Shrinking Cities and Competitive Economies)
• 1:30 pm – Sustainability Policy panel – innovations in stormwater management and green infrastructure
• 3:00 pm – Meeting ends

Featured Speakers:

• Bob Giloth, Annie E. Casey Foundation (invited)
• Geoff Anderson, Smart Growth America
• Kate Gordon, Center for American Progress
• Mathy Stanislaus, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Lodging: The Funders’ Network has contracted a small room block at the Intercontinental Harbor Court Baltimore for a discounted room rate of $199. Please contact the hotel directly at 800-824-0076 to make your reservation and mention the Funders’ Network to receive the special rate. The rate is being honored until September 13th.

Registration: Please click here to register for the convening. There is no registration fee.

Date: September 1, 2011
Time: 1:00-3:00pm
Location:  MAPC (60 Temple Place, Boston, MA 02111)

Learn how to use MAPC’s online mapping tool, the MetroBoston DataCommon, which offers a wealth of local data.

A partnership between the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and the Boston Indicators Project, it makes available data about cities and towns in Massachusetts.  Explore data, print out instant community snapshots or maps, and create your own maps.

Visit the MetroBoston Data Common website to learn more: http://www.metrobostondatacommon.org.

MetroBoston DataCommon user trainings are held every month at offices of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council in downtown Boston. Attendees include town planners, government employees, staff from non-profit organizations and private research organizations, and others. Participants receive an orientation to the various components of the website, and complete a hands-on tutorial of the DataMap Tool to create their own customized maps.

The two hour session will include:
* quickly access statistics about your city or town;
* conduct analysis with social and economic data;
* customize your own maps;
* print-out maps or email maps.

Date:  October 6, 2011
Time:  10:00am – 12:00pm
Location:  Boston LISC  Third Floor Conference Room (95 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116)
Instructor: Ezra Glenn, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) now provides a wealth of census data on demographics, housing, jobs, transportation, and other topics at the level of individual census tracts — perfect for CDCs and neighborhood planning projects. Better yet, unlike the old “long-form” census you grew up with, the ACS will be updated every year: finally, we have the ability to use current census data at the neighborhood scale, and we don’t need to wait 10 years for new numbers!

But there’s a catch: the ACS requires some new ways of thinking about how we use numbers and how we deal with uncertainty and change. This hands-on session drew on real-world examples to help participants learn how to get and use ACS data to make sense of their own communities.

Friday, April 8, 2011
11:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Location: MIT Building 9

DESCRIPTION

New technologies are transforming how we communicate, expanding access
to data and information, and revolutionizing how we understand and
navigate our cities. Join a diverse groups of practitioners, scholars,
students, and citizens for a half-day conference on the impact of
these changes on the field of urban planning. Held one day before the
start of the American Planning Association’s National Conference (also
in Boston), this will be an opportunity to meet innovators from around
New England and the across the nation.

The event will include discussion of urban modeling, urban sensing for
planning, planning support systems, meeting technology, social media
and Web 2.0 tools, and gaming for participation.

REGISTRATION

Register using the following link. Registration is free:
http://planningtech11.eventbrite.com/

PRESENTATION INFORMATION

Participants have four options for presentations:
- Lightning Talks – presenters will have 20 slides, 20 seconds per
slide, advance automatically.
- Paper Session – Presentation of a paper, submitted two weeks before
the conference. Should be no more than 5-10 pages.
- Presentation Session – Presentation without a formal paper, A/V
materials optional.
- Idea Session – A facilitated conversation on a topic. Will be
finalized on the day of the conference.

If you would like to present, submit the presenter name(s),
presentation type, and proposed presentation title to
rob.goodspeed@gmail.com by Friday, February 25. The timeline for
presentations is below.

Friday, 2/25 – Title and Abstracts due for presenters
Monday, 2/28 – Accepted presenters notified
Monday, 3/28 – Papers and final presentation titles due
Friday, 4/8 – Conference day

For more information see the conference website:
http://web.mit.edu/rgoodspe/www/planningtech/

Or contact planningtech@mit.edu

January-February 2011

New Urban research is providing two versions of their GIS Essentials™ Workshop. These two versions include a tele-class (which can be taken from anywhere) and a live one day workshop (offered in various locations).

GIS Essentials™ Workshop – Live One Day Class upcoming cities: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Honolulu, Tulsa, OKC, Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas

This basic one-day workshop is designed to teach essential GIS (Geographic Information System) skills as indicated by a survey of 500 GIS professionals, as well as input from several thousand GIS practitioners. Staff from government agencies, non-profits and universities will find the workshop particularly relevant. Gina Clemmer, author of the book The GIS 20: Essential Skills published by ESRI Press, will teach these workshops.

Audience: Anyone interested in learning the essentials of ArcGIS 10.

Registration: $595 (Includes registration to class, continental breakfast, lunch and a copy of the book The GIS 20: Essential Skills) More Info/Registration: http://www.nur-online.com

Date:  Thursday, November 4, 2010
Time:  3:00pm – 5:00pm
Location:  Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (60 Congress St. Springfield, MA)

The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission will sponsor a Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC) workshop on how to plan locally for affordable housing Thursday, November 4, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at PVPC’s offices, 60 Congress Street in Springfield.

Many communities struggle with the issue of affordable housing. This session will highlight various zoning initiatives and planning mechanisms designed to increase the local supply of affordable housing. Topics will include how to create a housing plan, implementation strategies, and innovative zoning tools designed to increase housing affordability for area residents. This workshop has been submitted for AICP credit (credit pending AICP confirmation).

The session is designed for planning, zoning, building, and conservation officials; municipal staff members who serve boards and planning departments; professional planners and others who consult with municipal boards; and citizens interested in land use and development issues in their communities.

The workshop is $30 and includes valuable handout materials. Payment is due with registration. Town checks may be sent by separate mail and arrive after the deadline.

You may also register by email at cptc-registration@comcast.net, followed by payment mailed to CPTC, P.O. Box 912, Greenfield, MA  01302. Please include your name, e-mail, daytime phone number, city/town served, and board affiliation.

Date:  October 23, 2010
Time:  8:30am – 12:00pm
Location:  Mass. Regional Planning Commission, Union Station (2 Washington Sq. Second Floor, Worcester, MA)

The Department of Housing & Community Development, Citizen Planner Training Collaborative, APA  - Massachusetts Chapter and Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission are pleased to announce a half-day workshop “Innovative Zoning Strategies” to take place at the Central Mass. Regional Planning Commission, Union Station -   2 Washington Square, Second Floor, Worcester, October 23, 2010, from  8:30 AM to noon.

The workshop will introduce innovative zoning (seldom utilized) strategies and the way these strategies can be utilized to advance the production of housing.  Through successful projects, presenters will discuss ways to garner support for these zoning strategies from the community at large.

The workshop has been submitted for AICP CM credits.  See the attached schedule for a list of speakers, and registration information.

Registration is open to elected officials, community development staff, city/town planners, citizen volunteers, non-profit, and the development community from throughout the Commonwealth.

To register, please go to http://www.umass.edu/masscptc/

You will see the following: Fall 2010 CPTC workshops! Download program information and registration for here (click on the HERE and go to the last page, page 3).

This full day introductory workshop will bring together professional planners and community development practitioners to discover ways that these two fields can share expertise and values to create and sustain healthy, vibrant and prosperous neighborhoods and communities.  Participants will be able to develop essential community planning skills through expert instruction, peer learning, case studies, and mock charrettes in order to successfully initiate and maintain local planning efforts within their respective organizations and demographic areas.

Specific curriculum areas of focus include:

• The Planning Process
• Making Local Government Work for You
• Putting Data into Action
• Land Use and Zoning Practices