Innovative Strategies for 2024
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KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Transformative zoning changes for Boston
With our partners at Office of: Office, we provided zoning and other regulatory guidance to encourage infill housing development and allow additional dwelling units (ADUs) by-right in the historic city of Boston, MA. Our team performed a detailed zoning code audit to better understand the regulatory barriers to construct an ADU in a historic Black neighborhood– the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood. In addition, our GIS experts completed a neighborhood-wide spatial analysis to investigate how the existing built conditions, like the placement of homes on the lot, heightened the regulatory barriers.
IMPACT: We concluded that the most effective way to advance equity, prevent displacement, and promote missing middle housing development was the consolidation of antiquated residential zoning subdistricts into a single Middle Infill District. The new residential zone utilized a form-based code that allowed for up to four homes per lot in many areas previously zoned for single-family use. The Boston Planning and Development Agency has initiated a public outreach strategy to gather input from residents on this and several other project recommendations to be included in the Neighborhood District’s zoning code update.
Contact our innovative urban planners to design custom placemaking solutions for your area.
PLACE Initiative is official!
PLACE Initiative (PI) was co-founded by members of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), including our Managing Director, Garlynn Woodsong, in 2019. The mission of PI is to advance policy and program solutions for the entwined climate and social crises by sharing a deep understanding of natural and social systems with a focus on sustainability, equity, natural and working lands, and the built environment. Woodsong Associates was hired by start-up nonprofit PLACE Initiative to provide nonprofit executive services, such as strategic planning guidance, fund tracking and grant writing, drafting organizational bylaws, and more.
IMPACT: This year Garlynn was named the Executive Director. Under Garlynn’s leadership, PLACE Initiative was incorporated as an organization in the State of Oregon, became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in September, and received a $50,000 programmatic grant award from the Tecovas Foundation for 2024.
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Building up Small Developers Initiative
This year, we had the pleasure of working with Build It Green to co-create a Small Developer Incubator program to help establish the base of small developers needed to build the infill housing necessary to solve the climate and housing crises. The bootcamp training program we co-designed is intended to be offered to emerging BIPOC small developers at low or no cost, as we wish to expand opportunities of entrepreneurship and wealth building to those that are underrepresented in the real estate development world.
IMPACT: This summer, we worked with a coalition to apply for SCAG REAP 2.0 funding to kickstart the implementation of pilot projects in Southern California. Unfortunately the proposal was not funded. We are still looking to build partnerships to help us bring this initiative to communities in need; please reach out if you want to get involved!
We’d love to support your organization’s effort. Schedule an introductory meeting with us.
SCAG ADU Project is wrapping up
As the year comes to an end, so does our accessory dwelling unit (ADU) implementation project funded by REAP 1.0 funds. Over the last two years, we have been working with five SoCal cities to implement/improve their ADU programs to promote missing middle housing. Our team has facilitated public engagement events, developed websites with educational materials about ADUs, and evaluated a wide range of socio-economic, geospatial, and regulatory barriers to provide guidance on process streamlining opportunities for each city.
IMPACT: One of the highlights of this project is the development of 6 complete pre-approved ADU (PRADU) plan sets to make it easier, cheaper, and quicker to build an ADU. Our partners at Sidekick Homes designed each of the PRADUs to seamlessly integrate into a homeowner’s future greywater system, which uses recycled water from the home to irrigate yards and gardens. To our knowledge, this is the first time that PRADU plans have been created to be “grey-water ready”! Implementing a greywater system is a low-cost, high-impact strategy to reduce strain on local water systems, and consequently, the homeowner’s water bill.
Illustration by Paul Kearsley
This project will conclude in February of 2024. Check back then to read about our full project highlights.
Contact our ADU experts to jumpstart or customize your ADU program.
LOOKING AHEAD
As we move into the new year, we’re looking forward to working with CLEE and The Nature Conservancy to analyze whether and how Transfer of Development Rights might serve as a climate equity strategy. TDR is an innovative planning tool that allows for the preservation of open space and natural lands while increasing housing density in urban areas. We’re currently gearing up on a project for CARB to propose ways that TDR-type tools could be employed across California, and are eager to see what the next year of this project brings.
IN THE NEWS
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