MAPC
Smart Growth & Regional Collaboration
Arts & Culture, Economic Development, & Housing
Upham's Corner Arts & Innovation District
Managing Neighborhood Change
MAPC's Arts & Culture department led a multi-disciplinary effort with the MAPC Housing and Economic Development teams to establish an arts-and-culture centered approach to managing neighborhood change in Upham's Corner. The City of Boston released the Upham's Corner Arts & Innovation District: Managing Neighborhood Change report on Dec. 10, 2018. The report's findings support the continued implementation of the Boston Creates cultural plan and Imagine Boston 2030 at the neighborhood level.
BACKGROUND
The City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (MOED), and the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) – with support from the Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) – engaged MAPC for this project.
Goals were to assess commercial and residential vulnerability to displacement, identify strategies and best practices for mitigating displacement, and engage in outreach to establish opportunities to leverage the neighborhood’s existing assets (particularly the Strand Theatre) to support neighborhood-based workforce development initiatives. MAPC began work in September 2017 with outreach, data collection, and analysis. The findings were shared in a series of memos submitted to the City of Boston between fall of 2018 and spring of 2018. These memos were consolidated into the chapters and sections that comprise the final report.
Upham's Corner
Upham’s Corner is undergoing changes to its commercial corridor and cultural facilities, creating an opportunity to strengthen the area as a cultural hub. The City of Boston is committed to investing in cultural facilities as part of a broader strategy to stimulate creative community and revitalization in Upham's Corner.
The acquisition of parcels near the Strand Theater to develop a new Upham’s Corner Branch Library, along with nearby housing and arts development by the City of Boston and Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, have led Upham’s Corner to the precipice of significant neighborhood investment and change. The City of Boston engaged MAPC to work on this plan in an effort to mitigate the impact of this change on Upham's Corner residents.