Reforming Boston's Development: A Path Towards Progress

FIXING BOSTON’S BROKEN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

CITY COUNCILOR AT-LARGE MICHELLE WU

Chair, Committee On Planning, Development & Transportation

October 2019 | VERSION 1

INTRODUCTION

October 2019

Dear Boston,

Over the last two years, as Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Planning, Development and

Transportation, I’ve had a window into Boston’s development process. Through conversations with

residents and developers, public hearings on proposed projects, and meetings with civic leaders

and neighborhood associations, it’s become clear that we’re not planning for our best future.

Boston is in the midst of a development boom. We see it in the downtown skyline, dotted with

cranes. Even more so, we feel it in neighborhoods transformed by an onslaught of zoning variances

and special approvals. Instead of delivering the resources to address our most urgent challenges,

Boston’s development process is making our problems worse. We’re more and more anxious about

rising home prices and rents, frustrated daily by increasingly awful commutes, and scared about the

flooding and extreme heat that intensify every season.

This report is not an outline of these crises or the steps to solve them, but a reminder that all of

these issues are fundamentally related to how we are managing Boston’s growth and development.

And I hope after reading this report, you’ll feel hopeful. We are a city of tremendous resources, and

we can chart a better path forward by leaving behind outdated structures and removing barriers

to participation. Meeting our challenges with urgency and scale will require considering the

interconnectedness of these issues and empowering everyone to take part.

Just as we envision a more inclusive, transparent, and ongoing partnership to plan our shared

future, the pages that follow are Version 1 of this living document—a starting point for conversation

and an invitation to share your experiences and feedback. Please let me know your thoughts about

the ideas presented here or your stories about how the development process has affected your

community. We’ll collect this feedback online (at abolishthebpda.com) and in person at listening

sessions across the city. Reach out if you’d like to help host or organize a conversation!

Thanks for all that you do,

MICHELLE WU

Boston City Councilor At-Large

Chair, Committee on Planning, Development & Transportation

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[…] THE PARAGRAPHS BELOW SHOW THE INTENTIONS OF THE “FINAL REPORT” FOR CHARLESTOWN AND BOSTON AREA. It focuses on Downtown Boston and East Boston. Charlestown is only named 9 times contained on two separate pages. Even the title of the report does not include Charlestown in the title of the report. All links to Charlestown information are dead links. The “Final Plan” express most of the core reasons why PIER 5 SHOULD NOT BE PRIVATIZED. This is not being used by the development process unfolding following Michelle Wu dropped her efforts which she ran her campaign on and has failed blatantly and mysteriously. https://harborpark.org/2025/10/14/why-and-how-to-abolish-the-bpda-michelle-wu-when/ […]

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