February 2025
MAPC Matters
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Need to Know Now
MAPC Statement on Federal Actions Regarding Immigration | February 4, 2025
"Last week, MAPC held an informational webinar – joined by 400 people – aimed at helping local officials to protect their residents from draconian efforts by the Trump Administration to identify, harass, frighten, and deport people who have come to the United States pursuing a better life in a democratic country. We at MAPC continue to believe that our nation of immigrants is only made stronger by welcoming people from all racial, ethnic, religious backgrounds, and national origins."
Read the Full Statement | Access the Webinar Recording and Resources
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ADUs By Right - Effective February 2, 2025
A reminder that as of February 2, the new Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) by Right legislation went into effect. The new state law requires that all cities and towns in the Commonwealth allow ADUs By Right in single-family residential zoning districts. For more information about what the state law says, resources for municipalities, and more, please visit MAPC's ADUs webpage.
Go to the ADUs Webpage
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Release of MAPC's 2024 Media Coverage Report
MAPC recently released our 2024 Media Coverage Report. The Report is a comprehensive listing of where and when MAPC was mentioned in the media in 2024, and includes links and brief descriptions of why each article was included.
Access the Media Coverage Report
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New Report: Transit-Supportive Density in Greater Boston
On January 30, the Boston Foundation hosted an event to celebrate the release of a new report, Transit-Supportive Density in Greater Boston, by Boston Indicators and Transit Matters exploring the interplay of transit and housing. MAPC's Assistant Director of Transportation, Julia Wallerce, joined the panel to discuss how transit-oriented density is integral to supporting optimal and frequent transit service. The report explores the conundrum between transit and housing density while adding numeric benchmarks to help visualize and guide how policymakers, advocates, and developers might inch forward to a mutually supportive expansion of both housing and transit service.
Access the Event Recording and More Information | Read the Report
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Governor Healey's FY26 Budget Recommendations Released
On January 22, 2025, Governor Healey released her Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget recommendations.
The Governor’s budget proposal is a $61.5 billion package, a 2.6% increase over the final FY25 budget that was signed into law in July 2025.
This is the third year that Fair Share surtax revenue is available, which is divided between education ($1.598 million) and transportation ($1.673 million).
Access our blog post for even more information, including a chart of key MAPC budget line items.
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Administration Refiles Municipal Empowerment Act (MEA)
Governor Healey refiled legislation last month that would offer a suite of support for municipalities. The bill includes many similarities to the bill she filed last year, including strengthening local fiscal and staffing stability, increasing municipal flexibilities, and offering efficiencies and modernization for municipalities.
The bill also includes an extension of COVID-era public meeting flexibilities empowering municipalities to host hybrid or remote public meetings that otherwise expires in March.
Visit the Municipal Empowerment Act webpage for more information about the legislation.
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MAPC's Government Affairs Team:
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Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Electric Solicitation Grant | |
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Application Deadline
April 7, 2025
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Grant Authority
MA Department of Environmental Protection
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Description
This grant opportunity from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is focused on providing entities (public and private) with funding to support diesel emissions reduction projects. This includes funding opportunities for school buses, transit buses, and medium-duty or heavy-duty trucks.
To learn more about this grant opportunity, to determine if you are eligible to apply for it, and to access the application, please visit the grant webpage.
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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).
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*New* MAPC Tools, Resources, and Opportunities to Participate | |
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Chelsea Everett Greenway Connector
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), in partnership with the Cities of Chelsea and Everett, is undertaking a study to connect the Chelsea Greenway with the Northern Strand Trail and the Encore Casino area. The study is to be completed by this Summer (2025).
On the project webpage, you can view a map of the Connector, get background on the project and more.
The information is also available in Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole.
Visit the Project Webpage (English)
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Old brick warehouse building opposite new housing
Photo Credit: MAPC
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Municipal Best Practices for Welcoming and Protecting Immigrant Communities Webinar
On Tuesday, January 28, MAPC in partnership with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, hosted a webinar focused on strategies and resources for cities and towns to keep immigrant communities informed and safe.
The recording of the webinar as well as links to resources discussed, is now available on our website. Additionally, we encourage you to look through all of the available resources we have pulled together on the Immigration and Migration Resources page.
Access the Webinar Recording and Resources
Visit the Immigration and Migration Resources Page
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We encourage you to continuously check out the employment page on our website for any upcoming positions. | |
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Ashfield, Northfield awarded $15K grants for public art training
Publication Date: February 9, 2025 | Source: Greenfield Recorder
“The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) chose Northfield and Ashfield as two of the 10 municipalities across Massachusetts to be a part of the 2025 ‘Making It Public’ training program, which is in partnership with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s Arts & Culture Department.”
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New report states how many new homes Mass. needs to build by 2035. It’s a lot.
Publication Date: February 7, 2025 | Source: Boston.com
"However, whether the state can actually meet its goal of building the 222,000 units in the next decade is a different question. Interest rates, construction costs, funding, and local governments’ limitations on housing development are the main factors affecting housing production in Massachusetts, according to Marc Draisen, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council."
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Massachusetts Awards $19 Million in Digital Equity Grants
Publication Date: January 29, 2025 | Source: Broadband Breakfast.com
“The largest project will give about $9 million to expand the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s Apartment Wi-Fi program from 2,400 units to 6,400 units. The program provides “no barrier, no subscription internet” to all its housing partners and its subsequent residents.”
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Upcoming Events
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events, and we encourage you to check our online events calendar often for new and updated event postings.
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Community Engagement Conversations | February Session: Designing Accessible Engagement
February 27, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
In this session of the Community Engagement Conversations series, learn how to build an understanding of tools you can use to make engagement accessible for people of different languages and for persons with disabilities.
The Series:
The MAPC Community Engagement Team invites you to attend a series of Community Engagement Conversations between September 2024 through May 2025.
The once-a-month conversations will focus on different community engagement topics to support this work within your own community and introduce you to the services MAPC offers when you work with the MAPC Community Engagement Team.
You can learn more about each session of the series, and watch recordings of previous sessions by visiting the Community Engagement Conversations webpage.
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2025 MAPC Winter Council Meeting (virtual)
March 5, 2025 | 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
We invite you to virtually join us for our 2025 Winter Council Meeting.
This Winter Council Meeting will be a special one, as we will be introducing MAPC’s new Strategic Plan, and also be announcing the recipient of the Mayor Theodore Mann Regional Leadership Award.
MAPC’s New Strategic Plan
The Strategic Plan outlines and guides MAPC’s work forward. The new Strategic Plan being introduced at the Winter Council Meeting lays out MAPC’s focused priorities for the next five years (2025 – 2030). Adoption of the Strategic Plan by MAPC’s Council is a requirement.
Mayor Theodore Mann Regional Leadership Award
The award is given annually by MAPC in memory of Newton’s longest-serving mayor, Theodore “Teddy” Mann, and recognizes a municipal leader from Greater Boston whose commitment to regional collaboration best exemplifies Mann’s legacy.
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MPO Corner: News from our partner in transportation planning
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is Boston’s regional transportation planning agency. MAPC is one of 22 voting MPO board members. Subscribe for updates and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X at @BostonRegionMPO.
| Couldn’t Make It? Watch the January 29 Vision Zero Public Forum | |
Thank you to those who participated in the Vision Zero virtual public forum to learn more about the development of the MPO’s Vision Zero Action Plan, a regional strategy for reducing traffic-related deaths and serious injuries. At the forum, we provided an overview of regional traffic safety data analyses, including key crash locations and their contributing factors.
If you missed the public forum, you can view the recording here or view the presentation. The recording and presentation are also posted for viewing on the project website at bostonmpovisionzero.com.
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2025–29 Transportation Improvement Program Amendment Nine Out for Public Comment
Review and submit feedback on Amendment Nine to the 2025–29 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) by February 28: bostonmpo.org/contact/tip
Amendment Nine includes three Reconnecting Communities Pilot grant awards for the City of Revere, the City of Boston, and the MBTA. The amendment also contains reallocations of funding for some Cape Ann Transportation Authority projects and the reintroduction of funding for the Town of Wakefield to improve the Broadway Commuter Rail grade crossing.
Review Amendment Nine: bit.ly/25-29-TIP-Amdt9
Submit a comment: bostonmpo.org/contact/tip
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Manager of Multimodal Planning and Design
Manager of Data Management Group
Transportation Planner
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Upcoming MPO Meetings and Events:
Thursday, February 20 - MPO Meeting
Thursday, February 27 - Transit Working Group
Thursday, March 6 - MPO Meeting
Public attendance and comments are welcome at all MPO meetings and events. Visit the MPO’s website for more information. Meeting dates and materials are available on the MPO meeting calendar. Submit questions and comments via the MPO’s feedback forms.
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Your monthly MAPC newsletter. | |
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