Three Mayoral Candidates Forum
On June 24, 2017, Newton Forum and the Newton Villages Alliance co-sponsored a forum with mayoral candidates Amy Mah Sangiolo, Ruthanne Fuller, and Scott …
Land Use Committee Approves Washington Place
Well, at last it’s happened: After a year of public hearings, developer presentations, and questions and comments from the members of the Land Use …
Fix it First (Part 2): It’s a Developer Crisis
In Part 1 we learned: Healthy and successful cities depend on abundant supports: infrastructure, transportation, and a strong commercial base. Newton is lacking in …
Double Counting for Density
January: a time of reflection and a time of resolutions. Politically speaking 2016 was a near rerun of 1876. In 2016 Clinton won by …
Faulty Towers: Rezoning as a Gift to Developers
Developers often like to present an image of themselves as risk-takers in the mold of Leif Erikson, Vasco DaGama, and Christopher Columbus—or the captain …
An undemocratic approach to planning in Newton
The following ~725-word essay originally appeared on the Ipso Facto blog, titled Newton Mayor Setti Warren’s dangerous Planning Department report, and is reposted here …
Fix It First (Part 1): Where’s the money?
I’m reading The Human City, Urbanism for the Rest of Us by renowned demographer Joel Kotkin. U.S. News & World Report says “No one knows more about cities …
Austin Street as a Clinical Trial
Before a new drug is released to the public, it must undergo a series of trials, first on animals in the laboratory, then on …
Mayor grants developer request to remove healthy city tree
If you are in any doubt how much Newton mayor Setti Warren favors the interests of developers over residents and taxpayers, consider what has …
State Senate to vote on developer wish list
Until a few days ago, I doubt more than one person in a thousand, even in Newton, was aware of Massachusetts Senate Bill 2311 …