Springfield Taproom

No registration required, all welcome. 

Discover Worcester's journey toward climate resilience and reducing the impact of extreme heat in Massachusetts-designated Environmental Justice Communities. This session will feature a diverse panel of experts who will provide different perspectives to enhance participants’ understanding of climate resilience to extreme heat, meaningful public engagement, and interdisciplinary approaches in urban landscape design and the Miyawaki Method, a unique approach to reforestation devised by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki that creates dense, biodiverse, native pocket forests.  

Speakers
Heather Gould, AICP Director of Planning at BSC Group
Luba Zhaurova, Director of Projects at City of Worcester, Department of Sustainability & Resilience
Evelyn Herwitz, Author, Trees at Risk: Reclaiming an Urban Forest — A Case Study of Worcester, Massachusetts and Vice Chair, Green Worcester Advisory Committee
Caseylee Bastien, RLA, CPSI, Senior Landscape Architect and Ecologist at BSC Group

Sustainability & Resilience

Four young planners working in municipal and regional government will share ideas on how to create welcoming, inclusive workplaces that attract and retain young people!

Speakers
Esther Rose-Wilen City of New Haven, City Plan Department
Abdul-Razak Zachariah, City of Boston - Planning Department
Stephanie Camp, AICP, South Central Region Council of Governments
Andrew Thomas, AICP, MS Geography, MRP, South Central Regional Council of Governments
Alexander Castro, City of New Haven - City Plan Department

Planning Profession

This session includes a panel discussion and audience conversation focused on how to unlock new housing development opportunities through quantitative analysis, progressive policies, and creative public private partnerships. Presenting Greenfield, MA as a case study, the panel includes members from the city’s Community and Economic Development department and their consultant team, highlighting the tactics and strategies that have generated results in their small, rural city and that could become part of the playbook for similar efforts in other communities. Most notably, the panel will discuss in detail The Community Builders’ Wilson’s mixed-use, affordable housing development project on Main Street, a catalytic public private partnership that anchors the City’s downtown revitalization efforts.

Speakers
Amy Cahillane, Director, Community and Economic Development, City of Greenfield
Jeff Sauser, Principal, CommunityScale LLC
Rachana Crowley, The Community Builders
Julia Scannell, Senior Development Project Manager, The Community Builders

Housing

Shared bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters have come to play a key role in connecting people to jobs, classes, appointments, and transit. They have also disappeared from some communities when the regulatory environment became unfavorable or profitability margins were too low.
Should the communities that have tried and failed to keep shared micromobility systems operating keep trying?
The speakers in this session are actively grappling with these issues and questions and are employing diverse strategies and vehicle types to attract, maintain, and keep their communities’ travelers and commuters served with an easy, equitable, and point-to-point transportation mode.

Speakers
Holly Parker, NCI, TDM-CP, SLR International Corporation
Bryan Davis, AICP, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) on Burlington
Grace Yi, City of Hartford, CT
Doug Hausladen, New Haven Parking Authority
Carolyn Misch, AICP, City of Northampton, MA

Transportation

Commercial districts need a high volume of foot traffic to support thriving small businesses. Supplemental district management services can dramatically increase this pedestrian activity. In recent years, there has been growing interest in forming district management organizations (DMOs) to provide these services in a range of communities throughout New England. The two pillars of successful district management are: a representative governance structure and sustainable financing. This session’s discussion builds on a recent report by MassINC examining the tools currently available in Massachusetts and its conclusion that modest state investment could seed a vibrant “place governance” sector to strengthen downtowns and main streets in communities and regions of all types. The MA toolset and challenges are similar to those in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Panelists who lead local district management organizations will speak about their creative approaches to solving governance and financing challenges and the kinds of public-private partnerships that make it possible.

Speakers
Andre Leroux, MassINC
Laura Christopher, MassDevelopment
Michael Monestime
Karen Finn, Springfield Cultural Partnership

Economic Development

Introduction from the Conference Committee, Alyssa Sandoval, AICP, SNEAPA Co-chair & Deputy Chief Planner, City of Newton
Introduction from Timothy Sheehan, Chief Development Officer, City of Springfield, Office of Planning & Economic Development
Welcome from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, City of Springfield

Charles “Chuck” Marohn, Founder & President, Strong Towns
Strong Towns supports development that allows America’s cities, towns and neighborhoods to be financially strong and resilient. Strong Towns is also about how street design and traffic congestion shape neighborhood safety and finance.

USDOT Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Action Plans are opportunities for communities to address traffic deaths and serious injuries using a holistic Safe System Approach, but crash and risk factor data can only go so far in identifying safety problems. Creating a far-reaching and equitable engagement campaign is key to understanding where the data might not be telling the full story.
SS4A projects across Southern New England – including a statewide/regional effort in Rhode Island and municipal projects in New Britain, Connecticut and Dedham, Massachusetts – are using creative engagement strategies to get stakeholders talking about their personal experiences with street safety, revealing key insights that might otherwise be overlooked in crash data.

Speakers
Eric Weis, AICP, Bowman
Amanda Smith, Town of Dedham, MA
Julia Evelyn, Long-Range Planner, Rhode Island Public Transit Authority
Mark E. Moriarty, PE, City of New Britain, CT
Ken White, PhD, Cambridge Systematics

Transportation

The Neighborhood Commercial Districts Playbook is a comprehensive road map and tool kit that strategically guides the City of New Haven in realizing the potential of its neighborhood commercial districts (NCDs). The Playbook was borne from the City’s vision to create thriving and culturally rich neighborhood commercial centers to meet the needs of residents, enhance quality of life, and generate economic vitality. The goals of the Playbook are three-fold:  to ensure that these districts are beautiful, well-managed, and capable of serving both local and regional audiences; to develop unique identities based on cultural, market, and geographical considerations; and to synergize municipal department activity to support neighborhoods efficiently.  The Playbook is rooted in the Main Steet America approach and examines alternative funding mechanisms to avoid a tax overlay on an already tax-burdened populace. This project was enabled by a portion of the $1.5 million ARPA allocation received for neighborhood commercial development.

The Playbook works to ensure that New Haven is a vital, beautiful, and vibrant city that supports residents and serves local and regional audiences for gathering, entertainment, and enjoyment of public life at all scales. Evolving from the Playbook as a catalyst, there has been increased energy in the NCDs through the start-up of the Neighborhood Main Street Managers, the Grand-er Grand Avenue Project, and the Whalley Avenue Revitalization. The City has also secured nearly $30 million in grant funding to support the implementation of the vision and has begun facilitating neighborhood place-based economic development city-wide.

The Playbook outlines an approach to large-scale public realm improvements. It sets up a framework to guide municipal staff through strategies to transform neighborhood commercial centers by attracting new businesses, supporting existing businesses, increasing connectivity, and encouraging residents and visitors to enjoy the public realm. This kind of large-scale effort requires dedicated municipal support, aligned inter-departmental efforts, and a vision for each neighborhood to ensure that investments of time, energy, and enthusiasm are amplified to deliver sustainable and long-term impacts.

Speakers
Laura Pirie, AIA, LFA, NOMA, Pirie Associates Architects
Michael Piscitelli, AICP, City of New Haven
Malachi Bridges, MPA
Michelle McCabe, Connecticut Main Street Center
Steven Jacobs, AICP, BJH Advisors

Economic Development

As the nation and planning profession continue to become more diverse, there is a growing need for planners to collaborate across identities with the communities they serve and the colleagues they work with. Generational Conversations: Building Intersectional Bridges is an interactive session that will facilitate an opportunity for attendees to speak in generational groups about their lived experiences and perceptions about the planning profession and the communities we serve.

Speakers
Jacquie McPherson, AICP, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
Jay Vinskey, AICP, RLA, City of Westfield, MA
Savannah-Nicole (SN) Villalba, AICP, AZT, Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
Tim Shea, City of Providence, RI

Equity (Diversity & Inclusion)

Mitigating the crisis of traffic violence in the US has been a top priority of USDOT through their advancement of the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant program and embrace of the Safe System Approach. This crisis has deeply impacted Worcester, where the tragedy of fatal and incapacitating injury crashes has regularly rocked the community. Through the recent establishment of a Department of Transportation and Mobility, completion of a Mobility Action Plan, and now development of a Vision Zero Safety Action Plan, Worcester is confronting this crisis with urgency and might.

Worcester affirms that small-scale demonstration projects, paired with events, can be a powerful implementation and engagement method. The City will share details about the planning and execution of its recent event hosted by Vernon Hill Elementary School. This high-visibility event invited students to help paint a vulnerable intersection while painted crosswalks, a temporary bike lane, and other techniques were also implemented. In combination with a bike rodeo event for students and parents, the event revealed the significant improvement to road safety that a small budget and creative techniques can achieve in just a few hours. The city now has a planning template that can easily be replicated as they hope to target other vulnerable locations in the City in the future.

This session will talk through the essential steps, planning speedbumps, and practical solutions learned from implementing a demonstration event with various groups and partners.

Speakers
Catrina Meyer, Stantec
Todd Kirrane, Worcester Department of Transportation &Mobility
Craig Dottin, Vernon Hill Elementary School

Transportation

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission published an Outdoor Recreation Plan for Berkshire County in 2020. During this process, stakeholders clamored for one central source of information presented in a way that helped reduce user conflict, unveil our region's hidden gems, and reduce the negative impact on overused assets. Berkshires Outside (www.berkshiresoutside.org) launched on January 1, 2024, and quickly gained traction as the companion website to Berkshires.org. In the first six months of operation, the site hosted nearly 50,000 sessions. Project leads from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission will share background on the county-wide planning effort, describe the process of building and promoting the website, and unveil phase-two improvements that will upgrade user experience. BRPC has invited Paul Jahnige of the Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation to share his vision for building the outdoor recreation brand of the Commonwealth moving forward, using Berkshires Outside as one point of inspiration.

Speakers
Laura Brennan, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Mark Maloy, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Paul Jahnige, Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation (MOOR)

Municipal/Regional Planning

Looking to enhance on the development of the MGM/Springfield complex, the City is playing a pivotal role in the redevelopment of three (3), key historic properties directly abutting the MGM/ Springfield development. The tour will also include a walk-up State Street looking at important new housing developments currently being proposed. The tour also includes a guided tour of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site.

Speakers
Philip Dromey, Office of Planning & Economic Development, City of Springfield
Brian Connors, Office of Planning & Economic Development, City of Springfield
Alvin Allen, City of Springfield
Kelly Fellner, Superintendent, Springfield Armory National Historic Site

The mobile workshop in downtown Holyoke, MA, offers an insightful tour highlighting the city’s economic development and housing infill initiatives. Participants will explore key areas where strategic investments have revitalized the urban landscape, fostering business growth and community engagement. The tour showcases successful infill development projects that have transformed vacant lots and underutilized spaces into vibrant residential and commercial hubs. Attendees will learn about the collaborative efforts between local government, developers, and community organizations that drive these projects, emphasizing sustainable practices and inclusive growth. This workshop provides a comprehensive understanding of Holyoke’s innovative approaches to urban revitalization.

Speakers
Aaron Vega, City of Holyoke OPED
Allen Penniman, Agency Landscape + Planning
Brian Creamer, Nitsch Engineering
Gibb Fischer, Open Square
John Goodhue, Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center

The Google Quilt approach to regulation text amendments appears to be common, especially among smaller towns.  However, it is an inefficient method that relies on excerpts from random towns that may have little to nothing in common. Taking regulation excerpts from towns as varied as tourist towns, cities, bedroom communities, and small and/or rural or farming towns do not mix and match well, therefore they should not be used interchangeably simply because they were in use somewhere.  That’s where the ‘planning before you zone’ approach comes in.  This new approach recommends initially focusing on the particular town and examining the problem or issue that needs to be addressed or the new innovative approach to regulation that could allow for new opportunities in the town.  From that process comes the direction for how to create a regulation text amendment that would best serve the community.

Speakers
Delia P Fey, AICP, Senior Regional Planner, Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments
Cameron James, Regional Planner, Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments

Zoning

Learn how to go from a vision to reality by hearing how three central Massachusetts communities are utilizing street improvements and rethinking underutilized infrastructure to achieve municipal goals for economic development and housing creation. You will hear from varying perspectives such as a planner, DPW Commissioner, and a Mayor. The City of Chicopee is developing conceptual plans for downtown streetscape improvements and converting two-way streets to one-way to support a vibrant downtown; The City of Springfield will initiate construction of a safer Dwight Street (right outside MassMutual Center!); and Easthampton has revitalized their mill district through public-private partnerships, state-municipal partnerships, and a Complete Streets approach. Wrap up the session by putting learning into practice with a hands-on experience where you will lay out a Complete Streets project to support the adjacent neighborhood.

Speakers
Natalie Press, AICP, Bowman
Chris Cignoli, City of Springfield, Department of Public Works
Mayor Nichole LaChapelle, East Hampton, MA
Paul Furgal, PE, PTOE, Bowman
City of Chicopee

Transportation

New England has a rich and complex history with rivers, which have been integral to the region’s development as sources of water, power, and transportation. In recent decades, there has been increased recognition of the ecological, recreational, and aesthetic benefits of rivers. However, rivers are also dynamic forces that can cause significant damage through flooding and erosion. This session will provide critical insights into fluvial geomorphology—the study of rivers as interconnected systems of water, sediment, and debris—and its practical applications in planning.

The session will also present two programs focused on using river processes in infrastructure design: the Culvert Replacement Training Site Initiative and the Rivers and Roads training program in Massachusetts, and a new state-funded “Regional Flood Resilience” effort by the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) in Connecticut. These case studies will illustrate how planners and designers can utilize fluvial geomorphology to enhance community resilience.

Speakers
Noah Slovin, AICP, CFM, SLR International Corporation
David Azinheira, Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration (DER)
Christine O’Neill, AICP Candidate, Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
Elizabeth McCarthy, Project Climate Resilience Consultant, SLR International Corporation

Sustainability & Resilience

Following the severe challenges posed by the pandemic and stagnation of office markets cities and suburbs alike across the region seek to spur a new era of Downtown vitality, but how to start? This session will bring diverse practitioner perspectives together to share their perspectives on how communities can initiate – and sustain – downtown transformation. Even when equipped with a (re)development plan, communities and their partners must adapt—and therefor empower themselves to manage—accelerating demographic, economic development, technological…and of course environmental…forces that are reshaping cities and suburbs alike. Engaging our larger communities in transformational planning has never been more critical as we face two decades in housing will dominate real estate development and in turn be dominated by households without kids while economic development will be dominated by competition for increasingly scarce educated workers—talent who strongly prefer to live in mixed-use, walkable, community rich places? How do we ensure inclusive economic development futures? And how do we convince the public that these visions build brighter futures for everyone and are fully achievable?

The session focuses on pragmatic strategies for unlocking a new era of opportunity in ways that meet an imperative to enhance regional inclusive economic opportunity and livability as knowledge and innovation industries increasingly drive economic growth—and inclusive economic opportunity across the skills spectrum..

As households without kids dominate housing markets (which represent two-thirds of real estate investment), amenitized, mixed-use, walkable downtowns are enjoying unprecedented housing demand and related vibrancy. Meanwhile, intensifying knowledge and innovation industry competition for scarce educated “talent”, who in turn drive regional economic growth and strongly prefer living and working in regions with vibrant downtowns, will create an imperative for planning that empowers downtowns to serve as powerful engines for enhanced regional economic opportunity and livability.

Panelists will focus on financing, policy, and placemaking tools that promote significant downtown housing, small business, and knowledge and innovation industry investment, including:
• Public/private partnerships targeted toward overcoming financial obstacles to redevelopment of outmoded and vacant sites in ways that pay long-term fiscal and economic development dividends.
• Proactive public sector strategies for integrating land use, deregulation, densities, placemaking, and related public policy tools.
• Robust equity and inclusion initiatives that address workforce readiness, skills training, and obstacles to starting small businesses.
• Community engagement that builds understanding, support, and public will to move forward.

Speakers
David Dixon, Stantec
George Durante, MassDevelopment
Alison LeFlore, Stantec

Municipal/Regional Planning

Comprehensive planning can be difficult to initiate and overwhelming to manage - there are endless invitations to dive down rabbit holes of research and engage in rudderless community engagement on abstract issues that cements planning fatigue. And yet, when done well, long-range planning can bring much needed strategic clarity, especially in the complex, diverse, and resource-constrained contexts of many small cities throughout New England. Through the lens of three recently completed comprehensive plans in Lowell, Lynn, and Worcester, MA we will explore strategies to avoid pitfalls and get the most out of a comprehensive planning process in your community. In addition to municipal and regional planning, this session will also touch on issues of equity, housing, zoning, sustainability & resilience, transportation and community engagement.

Speakers
Zoe Mueller, AICP, Utile
Aaron Clausen, AICP, City of Lynn, MA
Francesca Cigliano, AICP, City of Lowell
Mercy Anampiu, MBA, CHW, Lowell Community Health Center
Michelle Smith, City of Worcester, MA

Municipal/Regional Planning

An overview of Southern New England and national land-use law developments.

Speakers
Dwight Merriam, FAICP, Attorney at Law
Kathleen M. O'Donnell, Attorney at Law,
Pamela J. Brown, FAICP
Marjorie Shansky, Attorney at Law
Michael Mineau, Partridge Snow & Hahn

Law

Comprehensive planning represents a pivotal moment in a community's history, when the community comes together, takes stock of issues and opportunities, and articulates a collective vision for the future.  Regrettably, many comprehensive plans are left to collect dust on the proverbial shelf.  Our panel discussion will explore the critical steps necessary for effectively implementing the community’s vision following completion of the plan.  This discussion will address strategies for maintaining a spotlight on the plan over time, communicating implementation progress, trumpeting implementation successes, and allowing the community to express continuous feedback.  We will tackle the challenge of how to keep municipal leaders and staff motivated to carry out their respective assignments.  And we will also discuss the central challenge of implementation – how to reconcile and re-prioritize actions as the plan ages over time?  Join us to learn how to turn strategic planning into actionable progress and ensure the enduring impact of your community’s master plan.

Speakers
Luke Mitchell, VHB
Rob May, CEcD, City of Brockton, MA
Cathy Fletcher, AICP, City of Bridgeport, CT
Jennifer Gingras, Town of Westborough, MA
Kenneth Kirkland, AICP, City Planner/Deputy Director of Planning and Development, Woonsocket RI

Municipal/Regional Planning

Developing land use regulations to protect buildings from current and future climate risks is a significant challenge for planners across the region. It becomes even more challenging when the goals of housing production and climate resiliency seem to be at odds with each other.

Through brief presentations, short audience breakout conversations, and a moderated interactive panel discussion, attendees will learn about Cambridge and Salem’s approaches to developing zoning strategies to balance housing and climate resilience goals. While the two municipalities took distinct approaches in addressing this challenge—Cambridge’s focus extends to heat resiliency and Salem’s ordinance is tied to a recent wetlands policy update—both used common components of robust stakeholder engagement, technical analysis, and careful crafting of zoning language. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) will introduce further examples and tools from their regional planning work that consider different community types in Metro Boston as they address the climate and housing crises.

Cambridge and Salem’s success stories and MAPC’s range of tools and examples will provide lessons and new ideas for communities of all types to address the climate crisis and balance community goals through consensus building, sound data and analysis, and robust engagement with diverse stakeholders.

Speakers
Andrew Gorman, CESSWI, Beals & Thomas, Inc.
Jeff Roberts, City of Cambridge
Tom Devine, AICP, City of Salem
Jiwon Park, AICP, Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Zoning

The need for conservation and open space in urban areas and near low-income communities continues to grow. These areas are traditionally areas where industry-operated, and many of the remaining sites are now Brownfields. As communities seek to access nature, they're finding that historic impacts from industrial use complicate their ability to make use of the sites in ways that they might envision. The needs in these communities include simply a place for nature to thrive, places where people can walk and be in nature, various forms of more active recreation, boating, playgrounds, etc.

This panel, which will include an Environmental Justice leader, a conservation non-profit, and a national Brownfield redevelopment consulting firm, will discuss their experiences on sites around the Region, and engage the audience in a conversation about the challenges and opportunities in reusing some of these former industrial sites to meet the needs of the community to access in nature.

Speakers
Justin Farmer, Six Lakes Park Coalition
Michael Taylor, Vita Nuova
Kathy Czepiel, Save the Sound
Scott Lauher, Vita Nuova

Conservation/Environment

A great project begins with a well-written request for qualifications or proposals. Preparing an RFQ or RFP is not something that is typically taught, but rather something that is learned by necessity. As such, there is often a lack of detail and clarity including in publications. This can have detrimental effects on the search process, and potentially the project as a whole. Respondents need to know what exactly they are applying for, so they can adequately craft a response that meets the expectations of the requester. This session, hosted by two AICP planners who have worked in both the public and private sectors, will review details necessary to create a high-quality RFQ or RFP. The session will cover the basics (including the basic but important differences between RFQs and RFPs, and the benefits to each type of request), and provide useful techniques to optimize a request. Information to include, timeframes, and ways to share the request will all be discussed. As planners with over 40 years of combined experience who have created and responded to dozens of RFQs/RFPs, we will provide information to session attendees which will improve their future bid requests.

Speakers
Don Poland, PhD, AICP, Goman+York Property Advisers
Justin LaFountain, AICP, Goman+York Property Advisers

Planning Profession

MGM Springfield

Registration required. 

Start Your Day on the Right Foot: Group Walk Around Springfield. Will end around 9 AM. 

Speaker: Philip Dromey

Participants will be provided with an understanding of the public transportation needs of Western Massachusetts and how the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) is meeting those needs by incorporating sustainable, low emission infrastructure within it’s operations. PVTA staff will lead a tour Springfield's newest state-of-the art, LEED-certified SATCo Fleet Maintenance Center at 665 Cottage Street in Springfield. The new facility is essential for the charging of PVTA’s new fleet of electric rolling stock. Participants will be transported from the Mass Mutual Center to the SATCo Fleet Maintenance Center via electric bus where they will be given a tour and discussion with PVTA Director of Transit Operations Paul Burns-Johnson.

Speakers
Eric Szymczak, Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, Director of Maintenance and Facilities
Paul Burns-Johnson, Pioneer Valley Transit Authority

Four planners, with decades of experience wrestling with the impacts of the suburban sprawl of the last 75 years, will help participants imagine New England in 2099. Each panelist will make a brief presentation on trends and potential outcomes over the next 75 years, from the perspective of their individual focus on housing, environment, economics and community design, followed by a lively discussion with the audience.  

Speakers
Peter Flinker, FAICP, FASLA Dodson & Flinker, Inc. Florence, MA
Judi Barrett, Barrett Planning Group, LLC, Hingham, MA
Eric Halvorsen, AICP
Nate Kelly, AICP, Horsley Witten Group, Providence, RI

Sustainability & Resilience

The MBTA Communities Act in Massachusetts has tasked municipalities served by the MBTA with creating zoning for multifamily housing to help address the regional and statewide housing crisis. As part of this rezoning process, some communities have gone further by also pursuing efforts to remove additional barriers to housing production and housing affordability, such as residential parking requirements. Informed by MAPC's Perfect Fit Parking research and presented through local case studies, this session will illustrate how municipalities have expanded their zoning work to explore how residential parking reform can unlock opportunities for more affordable housing, while also meeting and even enhancing the goals of the MBTA Communities Act. The results will be of interest to planners everywhere who are considering parking, housing, and transportation reforms.

Speakers
Julia Wallerce, MAPC
Aditya Nochur, MAPC
Zeke Mermell, AICP, LEED AP, City of Watertown, MA
Kristen Guichard, AICP Town of Acton

Zoning

The suburbs are sleepy. Or so they say, and some like it like that, but others would like to enliven their suburban communities and invite more dynamism, especially after typical business hours.  This session invites participants to engage in a collaborative "hack-a-thon" to collaborate and generate ideas for policies, land use regulations, and community strategies to enable suburbs to be more lively or enable creative evening activities.

Speakers
Melisa Tintocalis Town of Burlington
Grady Desroulex, Craft Food Hall
Carolyn Preston, Simon Properties TBD

Economic Development/Finance

The growth in retail deliveries from online shopping is increasing traffic as a greater number of vehicles are needed to transport goods between warehouses, and to deliver individual orders to consumers. The surge in motor vehicles making deliveries is leading to greater roadway wear and tear, increased traffic congestion, and worsened air quality. Additionally, this rise in e-commerce creates greater competition for curb space on local streets, leading to conflicts with on-street parking, pedestrians, bicycle lanes, transit lanes, bus stops, and outdoor dining spaces. This session will cover the scale and growth of retail deliveries, their effects on streets and sidewalks, and how cities like Boston are working to curb these adverse effects while also supporting restaurants and businesses that rely on e-commerce to support and expand their customer base.

The session will feature the latest research from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, revealing that Massachusetts has a higher per-capita of e-commerce deliveries than the national average, and that the number of rapid food and e-commerce deliveries exceeds that of Uber and Lyft trips. It will also provide insights on how different states and cities are managing the impacts of these deliveries. The session will also feature a presentation from the City of Boston on their efforts to mitigate the impact of deliveries from online purchases by implementing enforcement measures and testing new methods of curb management strategies. The presentation will cover successes and challenges of past interventions, and also reflect on recent efforts to improve safe driving behavior of moped-users. The session will also include a short smart phone poll to gauge participants’ knowledge of the scale of e-commerce in the US and a Q&A session with the panelists.

Speakers
Travis Pollack, AICP, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Alison Felix, AICP, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Harper Mills, Boston Transportation Department

Transportation

This session will focus on the tools employed to facilitate the ongoing redevelopment of former highway land in Providence, RI as a case study for urban redevelopment in locations with market dynamics that are at odds with the desired redevelopment goals. When I-195 was relocated out of the urban core, 27 acres of land was made available for redevelopment. The vision was to reknit together neighborhoods separated by the elevated highway and create an innovation district, but the market dynamics initially did not support the desired uses. This reality required a suite of interventions to attract developers and end users including: centralized jurisdiction over entitlements and land sales; upfront investments in public amenities including a signature pedestrian bridge built on former highway pilings; incentive programs; adoption of District-specific zoning that is developer-friendly while prioritizing urban design goals; District-wide master permits; focus on placemaking including interim uses; and strategic phasing of parcel development. These efforts have been successful with over 2M SF and 760M of investment to date and offer insights for other second and third tier markets.

Speakers
Zoë Mueller, AICP, Utile
Caroline Skuncik, I-195 Redevelopment District
Tim Love, FAIA, Utile
Joseph I Mulligan, III, City of Providence, RI

Economic Development/Finance

Planners will learn firsthand how the updated AICP Code of Ethics emphasizes the commitment to equity and inclusion, to oppose harassment, and prevent misuse of the credential. Session attendees will understand how the Code of Ethics sets certified planners apart by focusing on integrity, appearance of fairness, and a commitment to supporting fair and just communities. Through this session, planners will learn how to readily access the Code and use it as a guide to ethical behavior in their planning practice. Based on real-life cases, session attendees will participate in a Jeopardy-style game focused on the material covered in the presentation.

Speaker
Ralph Willmer, FAICP, AICP Ethics Officer

Ethics

Zoning can sometimes hold back innovation on the small scale within a community via cumbersome regulations and lengthy permitting processes.   However, towns that value what agriculture represents in their community, their economy and in related topics of food security, etc. can update their regulations in ways that can allow for innovation, agritourism and compatible businesses that can be run simultaneously from the property without overwhelming or detracting from the agricultural use of the property.  One such innovation is in agritourism which allows the farmer to create additional and compatible income streams.

Speakers
Delia P Fey, AICP, Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments
Ken Rapoport , Entrepreneur, Farmer and CEO of Azuluna Foods, Woodstock Sustainable Farms and Azuluna Foods

Sustainability & Resilience

Community-driven planning is the process by which community members define for themselves the challenges they face and solutions they want to see implemented. This interactive session will explore how community-driven planning can effectively drive regional and local climate action, using the MetroWest Climate Equity Project as a case study. Established in 2021, the MetroWest Climate Equity Project is a partnership between the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Towns of Ashland and Natick and the City of Framingham. It aims to empower those most affected by climate change to shape local climate resilience decisions. To do so, the municipalities partner with compensated Community Liaisons who reside in Environmental Justice neighborhoods, have connections with priority populations, and/or are interested in climate equity. Community Liaisons and municipal staff participate in training, co-develop project materials, and brainstorm climate solutions together.

This community-driven process is based on the desire to build long-lasting relationships; thus, the process is iterative and action-oriented. The conclusion of one phase of the project is an opportunity to start a new phase that acts upon previously emergent suggestions. Since the project’s origin, the Community Liaisons have:
- Piloted a survey and led focus groups about climate resilience priorities,
- Designed a summer and winter emergency preparedness campaign, and
- Conducted outreach to seniors during extreme heat events.

Most importantly, they have reached populations who experience barriers to participating in traditional planning processes and brought their input back to municipal staff members to shape assessments and local action. In hopes of disseminating lessons learned from this initiative, the MetroWest Climate Equity Project has developed a Community-Driven Planning Guide to share best practices of using this planning approach.

We will share and walkthrough a guide of how to implement a community-driven planning process. The guide includes the principles behind community-driven planning and the steps of the process, from recruitment to evaluation. We will share examples from the MetroWest Climate Equity Project when discussing each step of the process. We will then ask the audience to reflect on how to incorporate community-driven planning into their own work, whether it is climate-related or about another topic.

Speakers
Claire Hoffman, MPH, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Samantha Riley, MBA, Town of Ashland
Nirasha Kumar, Influencer
Sharon Ron, M.A., Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Community Engagement/Public

Accessibility compliance may be assumed to be the responsibility of architects and other designers; however, planners play an essential role in ensuring that our built environment is welcoming to all citizens. All cities and towns of Southern New England, like all municipalities in the U.S., have a regulatory obligation to ensure they do not discriminate against individuals with disabilities in the provision of municipal programs and services. Since 1993, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), each municipality is required to periodically perform an evaluation to determine the barriers that exist to their programs, services, and activities. Then they must develop and implement a plan to remove the barriers. This process is called ADA Self-evaluation and Transition Plan.

Kathryn Denis and Emmanuel Andrade from KMA in Newton, MA – a nationally known firm that specializes in universal design and accessibility planning – are designers and consultants partnering with municipal clients to develop ADA Self-evaluation and Transition Plans. Kathryn and Emmanuel will review the obligations municipalities have to individuals with disabilities under the ADA. They will also review the requirements for ADA Self-evaluation and Transition Plans, explore the concept of program access, showcase how to involve people with disabilities in the process, and share useful resources on proposal requests and grant opportunities.

As stewards of municipal infrastructure, planners have the power to make buildings and outdoor spaces accessible to people with disabilities. This session will demonstrate how planners can embrace ADA Self-evaluation and Transition Plans when creating authentic inclusive communities.

Speakers
Emmanuel Andrade, KMA
Kathryn Denis, KMA

Municipal/Regional Planning

This mobile workshop will examine the past, present, and future of Springfield’s relationship with the Connecticut River. From its role in transportation during the pre-railroad era, to its recreational use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the river had long played a central role in the life of the city. But, heavy pollution in the 20th century, followed by highway construction, worked to isolate the city from its riverfront. More recently, the city has made considerable progress in reconnecting Springfield to the river, including developing Riverfront Park and the Connecticut Riverwalk and Bikeway, which runs along the banks of the river for most of its length in Springfield. However, there are still many opportunities for continued progress. The city’s ongoing neighborhood investment planning process has revealed that residents value the riverfront, and would like to strengthen its connection to the city center.
The workshop will explore the historical uses of the waterfront, the barriers that subsequently separated the city from the river, along with the investments that the city has made in an effort to reconnect residents to the river. This has included developing the Connecticut Riverwalk and Bikeway along the banks of the river, and the creation of Riverfront Park. It will also examine future opportunities that have emerged from the neighborhood investment planning process, including more access points, greater connectivity to other existing or proposed multi-use trails, improved lighting, and expanded water-based recreational opportunities.

Speaker
Derek Strahan, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission

The mobile workshop of Szot Park in Chicopee, MA, offers an engaging tour highlighting two of the city’s major open space and natural resources projects. Participants will explore the Abbey Brook Restoration Project with a focus on dam removal challenges and lessons learned. Additionally, attendees will learn about open space planning for a large, public park with multiple active and passive recreation uses strategic investments have revitalized the park’s landscape, and master planning process. Focus will be on tree species and successional planting, increasing tree canopy and shade to mitigate for urban heat island impacts, park programming and community engagement, green infrastructure and sustainable stormwater management practices, and multi-modal transportation planning for all park users.

Speakers
Lee Pouliot, City of Chicopee
Ray Dunetz, Ray Dunetz Landscape Architecture
Tim Nickerson, Ray Dunetz Landscape Architecture
Brian Creamer, Nitsch Engineering
Representative, Tighe & Bond

At the heart of Barnstable, Downtown Hyannis has long been a Cape-wide attraction as well as a hub for cars, planes, trains, buses and ferries to the islands. In the 1960’s, the national fascination with the Kennedy family helped triggered a summer season roadway shift that converted two-way streets to one-way thoroughfares aimed at reducing congestion. Soon made permanent in the 1970’s, this also marked the beginning of a long, slow economic decline that paralleled the gradual increase in traffic and vehicle speeds and the rapid decline in walkability. Today, the downtown is one of the State’s higher crash clusters—especially for pedestrians and bicycles. Many knew the one-ways had to be undone, but opposition was vast. The Town brought in Stantec and renowned urbanist and author Jeff Speck to evaluate the system holistically and recommend a path forward. This session will focus on key steps used by this team and Town staff for daylighting the reality of the one-way’s adverse impacts and how a two-way reversion could improve safety, business access, emergency response, vitality and—remarkably—traffic. Working through a detailed but direct stakeholder engagement, data collection, multi-modal analysis, and roadway re-conceptualization process, the team has successfully created broad-based support for change. Hyannis was awarded an implementation grant and is now completing final design for implementation as soon as 2025—unthinkable just five years ago. In an interactive conclusion, participants will be queried about how best to solve the critical “Six Points” intersection and then see the Town’s unique solution.

Speakers
Jason Schrieber, AICP, Stantec
James Kupfer, AICP, Town of Barnstable

Transportation

Many New England cities and towns are built upon historic development patterns that have provided wonderful living environments, yet these places cannot be duplicated today. This may result from modern zoning and road construction, which often undermine planning best practices and quality of life in New England communities. Affordable housing, economic development and walkability are universally desired community attributes, and yet zoning often works at cross purposes in supporting these features of city and town life. This session highlights Newport’s small scale houses in the context of a recently-completed buildout analysis of Newport, RI’s housing. The buildout analysis points toward small lots and small housing as a way to re-knit torn urban fabric and promote much needed additional housing and development. The session will also touch on regulatory changes that better suit Newport residents’ desires and support workforce housing construction.

Speakers
Kim Salerno, MArch, PBac, Principal, Libra Planners
Peter Friedrichs, JD, AICP, Libra Planners
Steve Irvine, PhD, MArch
Patricia Reynolds, MArch, BA Economics, Director of Planning and Development, City of Newport, RI

Housing

By adding visual quality and elegant function, Community Branding fixes the holes and tears in the civic tapestry. A community brand isn’t just a recognizable name and logo that distinguishes a place in a crowded market. The best community branding needs to underscore the unique character and personality of a particular place. An interactive session on building community branding and applying experiential and urban design tools to recognize the unique qualities of a city or town that can make a community-town, city, downtown or a neighborhood, a destination rather than just a location.

Speakers
Mark Favermann, Favermann Design, Boston, MA
Fiona Coughlan, AICP, Town of Grafton, MA
Julie Pierce, MBA, Town of Acton
Kristen Guichard, AICP, Town of Acton, MA

Economic Development

The field of urban planning is sometimes criticized for its generality, encompassing too many disciplines to be effective. However, such multi-disciplinary thinking is also one of its greatest strengths, working across scales and sectors to leverage allied expertise.  This panel brings together five (5) multi-disciplinary practitioners firmly grounded in urban planning but whose practices and partnerships include architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, transportation planning and community design. What are the productive tensions between urban planning and its adjacent fields that are enabling contemporary practices to effectively address today's most pressing problems?  

Speakers
David Gamble, AICP, AIA, LEED AP, Principal / Lecturer in Urban Design, MIT Gamble Associates / MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Margit Liander, AICP, Associate Principal, Planner Sasaki Associates
Luke Mitchell, Land Planner, Team Leader, VHB
Rhiannon Sinclair, Principal and Urban Planner, Agency Landscape and Planning
JT Keller, Urban Planner, Utile

Planning Profession

We’ll showcase three New England transit agencies and their programs (both pilot and permanent), plans, and technology upgrades that are reinvigorating the operator and rider experience.    

CTDOT ‘Tap & Ride’ Pilot Project: The Connecticut Department of Transportation is piloting fare validators onboard buses that will make paying for transit as easy as paying for a cup of coffee. Transit customers in two service areas will be able to tap their debit/credit/smartphones and transfer seamlessly across systems easier than ever before, while also receiving the benefits of fare-capping. This pilot project will test the proof of concept for a digitally connected open-loop payment system on all transit services in Connecticut.

MBTA Bus Network Redesign – Operator Restroom Access: As part of the MBTA’s Bus Network Redesign, the T seeks to improve operator restroom access at existing and new route terminals – currently, restroom access can be informal, difficult, or nonexistent at some terminals. Using a data-driven approach that analyzed route runtimes and available restroom locations, the project team calculated how long operators would need to wait between restroom access and developed guidelines to improve restroom access across the network to advance operator dignity and comfort on the clock.

Merrimack Valley Transit (MeVa) Fare Free: MeVa has been fare free systemwide since March 2022. The results are unassailable — ridership is up fourfold, ridership is up 60% from pre-pandemic levels, and complaints are down by a third. This has not, however, been a controlled experiment. Rejecting the argument that transit boards must choose between going fare free or making service improvements, MeVa’s done both — expanded span and days of service, optimized routes, increased frequencies, and rebranded to reflect their culturally and linguistically rich communities. While arguments for or against fare-free transit are often speculative rather than evidence-based, with naysayers focused on feared consequences that might occur if a transit property were to stop collecting fares, MeVa will share actual experience and data. In short, MeVa has the receipts!

Speakers
Shawna Kitzman, AICP, RSP1, Senior Transportation Planner, Toole Design
Marcela Moreno, AICP Project Manager - Bus Transformation, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Noah Berger, MeVa
Adam Recchia, Project Manager & Data Science Team Manager, Foursquare ITP
Daniel Baker, Transportation Supervising Planner, Connecticut Department of Transportation

Community Engagement/Public

This special session will feature a presentation on the "APA Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook: Solutions, Systems, Partnerships" as well as perspectives from three different developers, highlighting best practices from recent multi-family housing projects in a variety of contexts from Massachusetts and Connecticut. The presenters will highlight specific tools, such as structuring financing, zoning, and working with local officials, boards, and the public, from the Housing Playbook. The developers will also present real world examples including market rate and affordable housing projects and housing projects incorporating green building technologies in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Speakers
Jennifer Raitt, Northern Middlesex Council of Governments
Jessica Allan, Valley Community Development
Dave Traggorth, Principal, Causeway Development LLC
Kevin Taylor, Nest
Ron Quicquaro, Studio Q Architecture

Housing

Unused surplus schools, fire stations, properties taken for taxes and other vacant and underutilized properties owned by a public entity take away resources from already tight budgets. A panel of experts will share their experiences, review sample projects, and explain the benefits of redeveloping surplus public property, which can include:

• Creating a community asset out of vacant or underutilized property
• Supporting economic development goals of the community
• Creating new housing, especially in former schools
• Supporting sustainability by:
o Reusing an existing building
o Utilizing property that is often within or close to a walkable neighborhood or business center
o Utilizing property located where infrastructure already exists

Attendees will be given an opportunity at the end of the session to ask questions of the panelists.

Speakers
Ben Murphy, VP Real Estate, MassDevelopment
Nathan Kelly, AICP, NCI, President, Horsley Witten Group
Jay Pateakos, Executive Director, Taunton Office of Economic & Community Development
Jeff Bagg, Senior Planner, BSC Group
Michael J. Mattos, President and Executive Director, Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative, Inc.

Economic Development/Finance

Southern New England faces acute housing shortages and affordability challenges, exacerbated by unique market conditions and limited developable land. This session explores creative solutions to these pressing issues using case studies (Bristol, RI and Groton, CT) and national and regional market research. It emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making and context-specific solutions in overcoming housing challenges.

This session features case studies from Connecticut and Rhode Island, as well as national trends, making it highly relevant to planners across Southern New England. The diverse approaches presented will offer insights applicable to various community types and sizes throughout the region.

Speakers
Tom Dworetsky, AICP, Camoin Associates
Jonathan J. Reiner, AICP, Town of Groton, CT
Ed Tanner, Principal Planner, Town of Bristol, RI

Housing

In Small Town, Big Voices, we'll explore diverse methods of engaging with all demographics within small towns. We will delve into effective strategies for engaging residents across all demographics, including various methods of communication. With many residents of small towns having lived in the Town for generations, it’s important to understand their love for their community, and uncover the reasons they choose to stay. Through interactive discussions and practical examples, attendees will learn how to foster stronger connections and build trust with their communities.

Speakers
Jenny Gingras, Town of Westborough, Director of Planning
Kristina Johnson, AICP, Town of Hudson, Director of Planning and Community Development
John Gelcich, AICP

Community Engagement/Public

Transportation planning plays a central role in shaping the vision for a community. It is an integrated and multi-step process that includes an extensive consideration of possible goals, objectives, and strategies; an evaluation process with various viewpoints; the involvement of key stakeholders; and open and meaningful public input. This process allows for the identification of issues and ideas and turns them into projects and priorities. Through the federal planning process and in collaboration with partners at all levels of government, a project gets identified, prioritized, funded, and implemented. These projects can shape the future of communities and improve quality of life for all.  

In this session, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Region 1 and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Connecticut Division staff will share their thoughts and perspectives on the planning process from idea to implementation. The federal landscape can be difficult to navigate when it comes to complying with new federal planning requirements, applying for formula and discretionary grant funding, and navigating the environmental requirements that come along with the receipt of federal funds. The goal for this session is for federal staff to share their experience and insights into navigating the federal planning process, grant opportunities, and the FTA NEPA process to aid recipients in ensuring successful project delivery.

Speakers
Christina Mendoza, AICP, Federal Transit Administration, Region 1
Jon Schmidt, Federal Transit Administration, Region 1
Eric Papetti
Jennifer Brady, PE, Federal Highway Administration, Connecticut Division

Transportation