IMAGINING THE EFFECTS
Balancing projects, people in 2030 plan
City Hall’s latest version of its long-term development plan for Boston contains triggers for reassessing if people are displaced in a major corridor, but won’t stop any building projects while potential effects are being studied.
The final draft of Imagine Boston 2030, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s long-term plan for growth and development in the city, will be released today for another round of residential comment before it is finalized this summer. Walsh released a draft last year, which drew on feedback from 12,000 residents.
Based around projected population growth of 656,000 people in 2014 to 724,000 in 2030 — and further growth to 800,000 by 2050 — the plan proposes developing a climate change-resilient waterfront and increasing residential development downtown. It also calls for expanding housing and job centers in several decentralized areas, including Beacon Yards, Fort Point Channel, Readville, Suffolk Downs, Sullivan Square and Widett Circle.
But the plan will particularly focus on the Fairmount corridor as a “network of opportunity” to reduce economic disparity in the city, calling for more improvements to areas such as Upham’s Corner, a green corridor along Columbia Road and major improvements to the Fairmount rail line. Imagine 2030 Executive Director Rebekah Emanuel said the improvements could lead to current residents being displaced as the area becomes more popular, and that city officials would re-evaluate development plans if the area loses more than 10 percent of households making less than $50,000.
“When we put in place so many investments in an area like this, we want those investments to benefit the communities there,” Emanuel said. “If we get to a place where ‘Oh dear, this is not what we intended,’ we want to put something in place as a trigger.”
Emanuel said officials would examine statistics and survey residents to monitor displacement — but that doesn’t mean plans will be put on hold if fewer residents with less money are in the area.
“The evaluation will be trying to figure out where the problem areas are and where the assets are and to dig into the right areas with a nose toward a solutionoriented lens,” Emanuel said, adding that a potential reason for a decline in families making $50,000 a year would be them making more money. “What we want to be doing is proactively investing in the Fairmount corridor.”