Need to Know Now

Do you Know a Graduating High School Senior in the Greater Boston Area Interested in Planning?

MAPC is excited to announce a new scholarship opportunity, Planning our Communities: Reimagining the Region.

This opportunity is for any graduating high school senior from a secondary school from any of the 101 cities and towns in the Greater Boston region. The base scholarship amount is $1,000, and the application deadline is Friday, April 18, 2025.

Learn More on the Scholarship Webpage

Accelerating Climate Resilient (ACR) Grant Program for FY25-27

A reminder that Expressions of Interest (EOI) for Fiscal Years 2025-2027 for the ACR Grant Program are due today! Additionally, if you are interested in speaking with MAPC staff about your EOI, office hours are open through April 14.

The call for proposals will open very soon, and we encourage you to check the Program webpage often for information when it become available.

Find Out All the Information You Need on the Program Webpage

MAPC Awarded Two Grants to Support MMC Housing Task Force Work

MAPC has been awarded grants from both the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) and the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) to support a local implementation project of the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition (MMC) Housing Task Force called Rightsizing Zoning. 

Working with the 17 MMC Task Force communities, MAPC will analyze the discrepancies between the type of new development that zoning incentivizes and desirable built form. The goal of the project is to provide zoning recommendations for streamlining the permitting and development of new housing that complements historical development patterns and achieves community goals.

Learn More About the MMC Housing Task Force

MBTA closures, BlueBikes $20 Ride Credit

To help support commuters in the Greater Boston region during current MBTA closures, BlueBikes is currently offering (while supplies last) a $20 ride credit. To access the credit, enter the code: BLUECROSSMAMBTA in the rewards section of the BlueBikes app.

View Their Posting on X (formerly Twitter) for More Information

Opportunity for Municipalities - Host a Municipal Fellow

UMass Lowell is currently looking for municipalities to host students as part of their Municipal Fellowship focused on providing support to cities and towns (at no cost) for their energy transition projects. You can learn more about how to apply to host a Fellow, and also how to apply to be a Fellow on their fellowship webpage. Please note that MAPC is not connected to this opportunity, and is simply sharing the information for those who may be interested.

Visit the UMass Lowell Energy Transition Municipal Fellowship webpage

Creative Sector Advocacy Week at the State House | April 28 - May 2

In celebration and support of April 28 - May 2 being Creative Sector Advocacy Week at the State House, we will be posting related content on our social media channels that entire week. If you don't already follow us, we encourage you to do so on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Legislative Updates

Legislature and Governor Healey Preserve Remote and Hybrid Meetings Option

The Open Meetings Law authorization to allow for the continuance of remote and hybrid public meeting options, was due to expire on March 31, 2025. However, the legislature and Governor Healey extended the allowance through June 2027.

MAPC, the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA), Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies (MARPA), Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), and the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions (MACC) issued a joint statement thanking the legislature and Governor for this important extension.

Read the Joint Statement

Introducing MAPC's New Government Affairs and Advocacy Hub

We were thrilled to launch our new Government Affairs and Advocacy Hub (GA Hub) a few weeks ago, which provides a more user-friendly and accessible way to find information on MAPC's current legislative priorities, recent news and updates.

Access the GA Hub

MAPC's Government Affairs Team:

• Leah Robins, Government Affairs Director (lrobins@mapc.org)
• Norman Abbott, Senior Government Affairs Specialist (nabbott@mapc.org)
• Georgia Barlow, Government Affairs Specialist II (gbarlow@mapc.org)

Upcoming Grant Deadlines

April 11, 2025

FY26 Massachusetts 250 Grant Program

May 15, 2025

MassDEP Reduce, Reuse, Repair Micro-Grant

June 26, 2025

Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program

Visit MAPC's Federal Funding Opportunities Webpage for more information on current available grants

FY26 Massachusetts 250 Grant Program

Application Deadline

April 11, 2025 (3:00 p.m.)

Grant Authority

MA Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT)

Description

The Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) through the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT), is currently accepting online only applications for the FY26 Massachusetts 250 Grant Program.

The purpose of this grant is to award funding to support marketing and programs focused on American Revolution storytelling, with a goal of increasing travel and tourism to Massachusetts.

Learn more about this grant program, including eligibility, and how to apply on the grant's webpage.

MassDEP Reduce, Reuse, Repair Micro-Grant

Application Deadline

May 15, 2025 (5:00 p.m.)

Grant Authority

MA Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)

Note: The grant application will be posted on April 15, 2025 on the grant's webpage.

Description

This grant will award eligible projects between $3,000 to $10,000 for projects focused on short-term (equal or less than one year) waste reduction. Eligible entities include: businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, regional authorities, and schools/colleges. Visit the grant's webpage for full information and details.

Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program

Application Deadline

June 26, 2025 (5:00 p.m.)

Grant Authority

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)

Description

The purpose of this grant is to support projects focused on planning, behavioral, infrastructural, and operational, focused on preventing serious injury and death on streets/roads. Visit the Grant's webpage for full information.

Two Grant Program Categories

1. Planning and Demonstration Grant
2. Implementation Grant

Eligibility

• Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs)
• Federally recognized Tribal governments
• Political subdivisions of a State, which includes counties, cities, towns, transit agencies, and other special districts

Informational Webinar Series

USDOT will host informational webinars associated with the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for this grant program. Visit the webinars webpage for information.

Technical Assistance

If your municipality is interested in applying for grant funding but lacks staff capacity, MAPC may be able to help. Grant Assistance Program (GAP) funding could allow you to seek assistance from knowledgeable Regional Planning Agency (RPA) staff, which can also lead to more competitive regional and multi-municipal applications, increasing the likelihood of receiving funding. For inquiries or questions, contact Gloria Huangpu (ghuangpu@mapc.org).

*New* MAPC Tools, Resources, and Opportunities to Participate

Electric school buses (ESBs) present an opportunity for school districts and municipalities to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve health and learning outcomes for students.

Schools across Massachusetts are already making the transition to electric school buses with the support from several technical assistance and funding programs.

However, sometimes making that transition has its challenges. That's where the new Electric School Buses Roadmap comes in.

Access the new Electric School Buses Roadmap Webpage

MAPC was awarded a $3M Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant to develop a regional strategy for expanding offsite construction to accelerate housing production while creating good jobs in the region.

Greater Boston Regional Offsite Construction Strategy (GB ROCS) aims to advance towards this vision by the creation of a regional strategy to research and incentivize the use of innovative offsite construction methods to meet housing, climate, and economic development goals.

Visit the GB ROCS Webpage for Project Information

We're Hiring!

Director of Land Use

Full-time | $125-135k annual | Benefits

We encourage you to continuously check out the employment page on our website for any upcoming positions.

MAPC in the News

Also be sure to visit our MAPC in the News media coverage webpage.

Economic Forum Explores Revitalization of Cape Ann Downtowns

Publication Date: April 3, 2025 | Source: The Cricket

“Angela Brown, chief of economic development at Metropolitan Area Planning Council. . . encouraged municipal staff to engage with businesses directly to assess gaps and proactively address needs.”

Marblehead tackles clean energy integration in historic district

Publication Date: March 26, 2025 | Source: Marblehead Current

“The workshop, funded by a $25,000 MAPC grant awarded in May 2024, continued efforts to balance Marblehead’s net-zero carbon emissions goal for 2040 with preservation of its architectural heritage.”

"'We want everyone to understand that their home improvement needs can coexist with their neighbors’ priorities, and that all perspectives are valid in this process,' said Lindsay Randall, senior regional humanities specialist at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, who facilitated the event.”

East Milton overlay final touches before TM

Publication Date: March 21, 2025 | Source: Milton Times

“The development of the new zoning has been a joint project between the Planning Board, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and numerous opportunities for input from residents. Josh Fiala of MAPC presented the near-final form of the mixed-use district at the Milton Art Center. It is slated to go before a Special Town Meeting set tentatively for June 16.”

“‘We are trying to shift from a commercial-development oriented zoning, which is the existing zoning, to a mixed-use zoning, which would include residential and business uses,’ Fiala said. ‘It provides an opportunity that currently doesn’t exist,’ he said.”

Muni leaders urge action to keep remote meetings alive

Publication Date: March 12, 2025 | Source: State House News

“In a letter lead by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Mass. Association of Regional Planning Agencies, officials from 45 different communities said the remote and hybrid allowances tacked onto the Open Meeting Law in 2020 have made it easier both for residents to meaningfully participate in local government and for municipal officials to manage the increased activity.”

The Lease Handbook: Protecting Your Small Business Release Event (virtual)

April 10, 2025 | 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

City of Somerville's Economic Development Division in collaboration with MAPC, has created a Commercial Leasing Handbook to aid small businesses or anyone in Somerville looking to start a small business.

Somerville's Economic Development Division and MAPC invite you to join us virtually for the Handbook launch event - The Lease Handbook: Protecting Your Small Business. You will learn more about this resource, and why commercial lease negotiation is integral to small business success.

This resource is available in multiple languages, and you can learn more and access the Handbook on the resource webpage.

Questions? Please contact:

Camille Jonlin, Senior Economic Development Planner, cjonlin@mapc.org

Community Engagement Conversations | Evaluating Community Engagement (virtual)

April 17, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Join us for this second to last session of the Community Engagement Conversations series, to gain an understanding of tools to implement evaluation of equity in your community engagement.

After registering to join us, we encourage you to visit the Community Engagement Conversations webpage, to view recordings and other materials from previous Conversations.

The Series:

The MAPC Community Engagement Team has been hosting once-a-month Conversations since September 2024 (and they will go through May 2025) focused on different community engagement topics. The goal of these Conversations is to support this work within your own community, and to introduce you to the services MAPC offers when you work with the MAPC Community Engagement Team.

Questions? Please contact:

Javier Gutierrez, Director of Community Engagement, jgutierrez@mapc.org

Data Open Doors: Measuring the Affordable Housing Gap Webinar (virtual)

April 23, 2025 | 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Please join Housing Navigator Massachusetts and MAPC for the release of Data Opens Doors!

Join Housing Navigator Massachusetts and MAPC for this webinar sharing key findings and policy recommendations from new collaborative research that measures the gap between the supply of affordable rental housing in Massachusetts and the number of households who need it.

Housing Navigator Massachusetts' novel dataset of income-restricted housing in Massachusetts enables us to understand this gap in detail for the first time. The findings of this research provide a clear view into the scale of demand for affordable housing and a detailed accounting of the kinds of units that are most needed to fill the gap--now and into the future. We recognize the urgency of building more housing in Massachusetts, and hope this research provides actionable insight for the state, municipalities, housing advocates, and policy makers into the kinds of affordable housing we need to meet the needs of Massachusetts’ low-income residents.

Note: This webinar qualifies for 1.5 AICP Continuing Education credits.

Questions? Please contact:

Casey Williams, Regional Housing and Land Use Planner II (cwilliams@mapc.org)

Lily Perkins-High, Analytical Services Manager (lperkinshigh@mapc.org)

E-Cargo Bikes: Small-Scale Deliveries for Big Impact (virtual)

May 15, 2025 | 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Please join MAPC, City of Boston, Net Zero Logistics, and MassCEC for an interactive discussion about our recently launched new resource, E-Cargo Bikes: Strategies for Municipal Delivery Transition!

This guide provides tools and resources to support municipalities in the Greater Boston region who want to make the transition from traditional delivery vehicles to electric bikes, or e-cargo bikes. E-cargo bikes can provide an alternative form of delivery that is cleaner, safer, and faster.

We understand that cities and towns who may be interested in making the transition might have questions on where to even begin. We encourage you to join us for this conversation, and bring those questions with you!

Questions? Please contact:

Marah Holland, Senior Transportation Planner Transportation (mholland@mapc.org)

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