City releases report outlining goals of Imagine Boston 2030

Boston, MA Since launching in October, Imagine Boston 2030 – the first citywide plan in 50 years – has used text messages, suggestion boxes, community open houses, email, social media, visioning kits and web surveys to ask Bostonians how their lives would be better in 2030 and beyond. And now the results are in. The top three responses were: • Housing I can afford; • Better transportation options; and • Quality education for all.

The city released a report that outlines the goals of Imagine Boston 2030. Called Guiding Growth: Towards an Inclusive City, the report outlines Boston’s recent growth and the city’s remarkable transition from urban decline to significant job creation and population growth since 1980. While Boston’s growth is essential to becoming more inclusive, growth brings challenges, including the rising housing prices, strained transit networks and uneven access to educational and job opportunities that Bostonians told us about this fall. As our city grows, we must invest in housing, space for businesses across a range of industries, transportation, open space and other important elements of city life to ensure that our growth is inclusive and attracts new workers and businesses.

Based on Bostonians’ input, Imagine Boston 2030 will preserve and enhance what we love about Boston, while embracing growth to address our challenges and make our city stronger and more inclusive.  Imagine Boston 2030 proposes four goals for Boston’s future: provide quality of life in accessible neighborhoods; drive inclusive economic growth; promote a healthy environment and adapt to climate change; and invest in infrastructure, open space and culture. The plan will identify the policies and investments necessary to support these goals. For example, Imagine Boston 2030 will identify areas where new housing can be constructed to reach the city’s 53,000 unit housing goal, which includes nearly 27,000 units of workforce housing.

This spring, the Imagine Boston 2030 team is actively engaging residents and workers in a conversation about where and how Boston can grow.  We invite all Bostonians to engage in person at community workshops and connect with our street teams as they visit each neighborhood. To engage Bostonians online, Imagine Boston 2030 has developed a digital mapping tool with coUrbanize, a local start-up. Using CoUrbanize, Bostonians can add their ideas for where Boston should preserve, enhance and grow.

“This input is an important first step in the planning process because it shapes the conversation about how Boston can leverage its unprecedented growth to create an even better city,” said mayor Martin Walsh. “Our overarching goal is to make sure everyone who lives, works and plays in Boston benefits from this growth, while setting the course for future generations to grow inclusively and have access to opportunity.”

Here’s how to stay in the loop with Imagine Boston 2030:

• Sign up on the website (www.imagine.boston.gov) for email notifications; • Follow them on social media (Twitter, Facebook, instagram) and post your ideas using #ImagineBoston; • Text IMAGINE to (617) 682-7483 to get SMS updates and surveys; and • Look for suggestion boxes around the City where you can submit your ideas using pen and paper.

The final Imagine Boston 2030 plan is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2017. For more information, please visit www.imagine.boston.gov.