Virtual Briefing Recap: MBTA Track Improvement Program Progress & Next
September 19, 2024
On September 17, 2024, A Better City welcomed MBTA Chief of Staff, Katie Choe, and Senior Director of Alternative Service, Laura Riegel, to a virtual member conversation on the year-long Track Improvement Program (TIP) results and remaining work. Chief Choe outlined how the MBTA continues to make strides with faster and more frequent service delivery due to the success of the TIP, including the removal of all speed restrictions on the Blue Line and Green Line (central tunnel excluded) and considerable progress is apparent on the Red and Orange Lines. As of August 25, 2024, scheduled trips are up and wait time/headways are down across all rapid transit lines with an overall time savings to riders at almost 50 minutes. The ongoing and future TIP work on the Red and Orange Lines will remove the remaining 30 minutes riders are losing caused by slow zones. Learn more MORE
Virtual Focus Group Recap: Article 80 Modernization
September 18, 2024
In a special focus group held on September 16, members of A Better City received a preview of an Action Plan for Article 80 Modernization to be released by the end of September. Introduced by Interim Planning Department Director Devin Quirk, Deputy Director of Master Planning and Policy Nupoor Monani and Transformation Project Manager Kevin Crossley presented a status report of their activities, expanding on several previous discussions with A Better City. Earlier phases of the program include surveys with engaged and less engaged groups, research of the practices of per cities, and identification of several key principles to guide the changes to the process.
The Action Plan will codify draft recommendations centered on three core changes:
- Effective engagement
- Consistent standards
- Coordinated review
A significant component of effective engagement is overhauling the IAG process, replacing it with Community Advisory Teams with a clarified role, training, and support to enable members to provide more relevant contributions to the project review process. The aim for consistent standards is to provide greater predictability and transparency for the review process with clear definitions and better understood mitigation of impacts and a menu of community benefit options for developers to choose. The aim of coordinated review is to assemble a team from all reviewing agencies and departments in a single process. The review filings would be reorganized to more closely match the steps of the design process with a vote of the BPDA Board following schematic design before design development and construction documents stages. The overall goal is for increased operational predictability for all participants in the process.
Following review of the Action Plan with interested groups this fall, next steps in the modernization process are preparing for implementation in the second quarter next year including . . .
Next Steps for Boston's Zero Net Carbon Zoning After Zoning Commission Rejection
August 19, 2024
On August 14, the Boston Zoning Commission rejected the Zero Net Carbon (ZNC) Zoning Initiative for new buildings. The ZNC Zoning Initiative would apply to new buildings over 20,000 square feet or with 15+ units, or additions over 50,000 square feet (with an exception for hospitals). The zoning would have established new emissions requirements, mandating that new buildings be net zero emissions at the time of occupation, starting on July 1, 2025. Based on input from A Better City and other organizations, the ZNC Zoning Initiative included relaxed compliance timelines for certain sectors—hospitals and general manufacturing uses would have until 2045 to comply with the net zero emissions requirement, and labs and high ventilation buildings would have until 2035. In addition to the net zero emissions requirement, the zoning would continue to mandate that new buildings align with LEED standards and institute new embodied carbon reporting requirements.
Effective January 2024, the City of Boston requires that all new construction comply with the Municipal Opt-in Specialized Energy Code that includes high levels of efficiency and electrification readiness—many new buildings will be fully electric. The ZNC Zoning Initiative would build upon the code requirements mandating net zero emissions at occupation—meaning that the owners of new buildings must, from day one, pay to offset emissions associated with their electric use by choosing Power Purchase Agreements/Renewable Energy Credits/Community Choice Aggregation, etc.
A Better City’s most recent comments to the City of Boston emphasized that the ZNC Zoning initiative essentially penalizes new buildings for a dirty grid. In addition to the premium to build to the Municipal Opt-in . . .
Reflecting on the 2023-2024 MA Legislative Session: What Happened?
August 14, 2024
With the close of formal debate in Massachusetts’ two-year legislative session, many advocates, business leaders, residents, and partner organizations are feeling deep disappointment at the anticlimactic end to one of the most unproductive legislative sessions in recent history. Typically, the Massachusetts state legislature completes its work on July 31st, when it ends its formal debate period, but legislative leaders do have the ability to extend their legislative session to give additional time to address pending legislation. This year, with the legislature failing to reach consensus on major issues, like Governor Healey’s economic development bill (also known as the Mass Leads Act), the clean energy siting and permitting climate bill, and many other proposals, there is already talk of the legislature returning this fall to reengage on these bills. If this does happen, then A Better City will continue to advocate for the policies and priorities in our policy agenda.
Despite this uncertainty with the economic development and climate-related bills, we are encouraged that many issues related to A Better City’s areas of focus did become law in the past few weeks, in large part thanks to the FY 25 Budget. We want to highlight some of these successes below:
FY25 Budget Takeaways
On July 29th, Governor Healey signed the $57.78 billion state budget for FY25. This budget includes significant investments in education, infrastructure, transportation, and climate initiatives. Similar to the FY24 budget, the FY25 budget again commits about 1% of the overall budget to energy and the environment programs.
Some examples of FY25 budget commitments include (the full press release and summary can be found
Event Recap: Conversation With Brian Swett, Boston's Chief Climate Officer
August 14, 2024
On August 7th, A Better City’s Energy & Environment Committee hosted a meeting, extended to all A Better City members, with Brian Swett, Boston’s first Chief Climate Officer. This is Brian’s second appointment to the city’s leadership team as he served as the Chief of Environment, Energy & Open Space from August 2012 to January 2015. In the interim he worked at Arup fulfilling several roles until becoming their Americas East Leader from April 2022 to June 2024. During his time at Arup, he was an A Better City board member, and an active member of A Better City’s Energy & Environment Advisory Committee. At this meeting, Brian discussed the city’s climate priorities and led a candid discussion about areas of concern and suggestions for improvement. Slides and a recording are both available from this meeting.
Some very high-level takeaways included:
- The City of Boston’s climate action priorities include decarbonization (buildings), resilience (coastal, extreme heat, and precipitation), and energy transition (demand reduction and decarbonization, grid resilience, and city leadership), all within the context of climate justice.
- The City’s Environment, Energy & Open Space Cabinet has a new organization chart (slide 4).
- There is a new Climate Cabinet co-led by Brian Swett and Oliver Sellers-Garcia, the city’s Green New Deal Director and new Environment Commissioner, that will work on the next iteration of Boston’s Climate Action Plan to start in September 2024.
- There is a new Office of Climate Resilience led by Climate Resilience Director, Chris Osgood, (who is also a Senior Advisor to the Mayor), that will . . .
OSHA Issues Rulemaking on Protections for Indoor & Outdoor Workers from Extreme Heat
August 13, 2024
In July 2024, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Department of Labor in the Biden-Harris Administration issued a proposed rulemaking and draft regulatory language to help protect both indoor and outdoor workers from extreme heat. With heat as the leading cause of weather-related deaths nationwide and significant heat exposure happening in the workplace, according to the press release, this standard is estimated to help approximately 36 million workers nationwide.
The proposed rule would require employers to design and implement Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Plans to control heat hazards in workplaces impacted by excessive heat. In addition to requiring businesses to: monitor heat risks, train employees on how to recognize heat-related illness, and communicate heat safety to employees, employers would also be obligated to implement regular water breaks, rest breaks, consider providing cooling personal protective equipment (like cooling vests), and to implement a buddy system for workers to keep an eye on each other and communicate when they need help.
Under the proposed standard, workplace protections in the heat would apply to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors in which OSHA has jurisdiction. Every covered employer would be obligated to implement a plan for evaluating and mitigating heat hazards in the workplace, with the ultimate goal to prevent and reduce the number of occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities cause by exposure to extreme heat in the workplace.
As of August 2024, the draft regulatory language for a federal heat standard can be found here. Once the regulatory language is finalized and included in the Federal Register, then the . . .
Event Recap: Decarbonize Boston Summit
July 17, 2024
In the first of what is expected to become an annual event, the Decarb Boston Summit kicked off on June 18, 2024, at Sasaki. The Summit brought together building developers, REITs, corporate tenants, and technology providers, to discuss compliance and climate requirements and implications, innovation in materials, revolutionizing retrofits, next generation solutions, and financing for the future.
Yve Torrie moderated the panel on Pragmatic Solutions to Building Decarbonization with panelists from Turner Construction, Trane and JBB. She led the discussion by framing the policy landscape for decarbonizing large buildings in Boston, divided into those related to existing buildings and those related to new construction, as can be seen in the following slide:
Key:
- light blue relates to policies specific to Boston
- dark blue relates to policies outside of Boston
- orange relates to codes that are under the Commonwealth’s jurisdiction
Please reach out to Yve Torrie with any questions. . . .
Eversource Electric Sector Modernization Plan for Boston
July 17, 2024
On Monday, July 15th, A Better City hosted the BERDO Commercial Real Estate Working Group’s fourth meeting. In the Working Group’s third meeting, the group asked to hear from Eversource, the electricity utility in Boston, about their future electricity plans for Boston. The group wanted to understand the increased capacity projections, how this translates into new or updated substations within Boston, and when and if, any grid limitations are expected. Eversource, like other electric utilities recently submitted Electric Sector Modernization Plans (ESMPs) that are currently with the Department of Public Utilities. These plans lay out the electric utility’s plans to modernize to meet the Commonwealth’s climate goals.
Eversource presented elements of their ESMP and followed with a robust Q+A session. A recording is available.
Some very high level takeaways included:
- The Eversource system’s current peak is around 6.1 GW
- The demand over the next 10 years is projected to increase to 7.5/7.6 GW and increase to around 15 GW (x2.5) by 2050
- The largest drivers of increased grid demand in Boston over the next 10 years is expected to be new construction and electric mobility
- We will move from a summer peaking to a winter peaking system around 2035 as more heating becomes electric
- Eversource’s electric system in Boston will be close to overload in the next 10 years without new and updated projects, so the scheduled implementation of major distribution infrastructure projects in Boston is summarized in the following slide:
Webinar Recap: The Past, Present, and Future of Water Transit in Greater Boston
July 16, 2024
As part of the annual Water Transit Month celebration, A Better City co-hosted a webinar with the Seaport TMA and the Lower Mystic TMA to illuminate the state of water transit in the region. Ferries have long been part of Boston's history, from having the first ferry in the United States in 1631 to the resurgence of water transit in 2024. Tune into the recording of this webinar to learn about the past, present, and future of ferry operations from our esteemed panel, which includes water transit experts, changemakers, and ferry operators as we explore how ferries and water transit can shape our region’s transportation and connect our coastal communities.
Panelists:
- Kathy Abbott, President and CEO of Boston Harbor Now
- Dave Perry, Director of Ferry Operations of the MBTA
- Bob Lawler, Vice President and General Manager of Boston Harbor City Cruises
- Patrick Sullivan, Executive Director of Seaport TMA
Moderator:
- Scott Mullen, TDM Director, A Better City
Watch the July 16th event recording at this link
Partnership Between A Better City, The Boston Foundation, Boston University School of Public Health, and City of Boston Launches Heat Sensor Pilot to Fill Critical Data Gaps in Measuring the Lived Experience of Extreme Heat in Boston’s Hotspot Communities
July 15, 2024
Partnership Between A Better City, The Boston Foundation, Boston University School of Public Health, and City of Boston Launches Heat Sensor Pilot to Fill Critical Data Gaps in Measuring the Lived Experience of Extreme Heat in Boston’s Hotspot Communities
Initiative to install sensors throughout the City of Boston to help close data gaps in measuring live temperature data across Boston’s neighborhoods, to provide more accurate indicators for heat waves and official heat emergency declarations, and to guide data-informed resource allocation
Heat Sensor Pilot Project Team Launches the First Sensor Installation at Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. Photo Credit: A Better City and Boston University.
Left to right: Zoë Davis (City of Boston), Isabella Gambill (A Better City), Jonathan Lee (Boston University), Ben Hires (Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center), Ameera Saba (Boston University), Julia Howard (The Boston Foundation), and Dr. M. Patricia Fabián (Boston University)
(Boston, MA) July 16, 2024 – A Better City, in partnership with The Boston Foundation, Boston University’s School of Public Health, and the City of Boston’s Environment Department (with input from the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics and Green New Deal team), celebrates the launch of a heat sensor pilot program to address the significant data gaps in measuring . . .
