After more than a decade, Commonwealth Avenue safety project loses funding — merged into Green Line study
Boston University’s Loretta Lees honored by UK’s Royal Geographical Society
A summer of disruptive repairs looms on Mass. roads, rails
Research conference ‘in service of a greater public good’ addresses local challenges
When Kim Lucas went to the first annual conference of the Boston Area Research Initiative in 2017, the event’s 40 attendees posed for a photo together in Northeastern University’s Curry Student Center ballroom. Ten years later, the same ballroom was packed — standing-room only. More than 400 participants attended this year’s conference on May 8, which covered research on topics including local housing, transportation and climate change challenges.
What do former grisly mob haunts say about modern day Greater Boston?
Where there was once bloody violence and criminal plotting, there is now preaching of salvation and grace. The auto garage that once acted as the de facto headquarters for one of Greater Boston’s most notorious organized crime outfits of the past century is now the Greater Works Church of God Somerville.
Mayor Wu Celebrates Local Environmental Champions at the 2026 Boston Climate Leader Awards
Mayor Michelle Wu and the City of Boston’s Environment Department hosted the second annual Boston Climate Leader Awards at The Prudential Center’s View Boston, honoring the local leaders making extraordinary contributions to the city’s ambitious climate action goals. Dr. Fabian’s data-driven research and collaborative leadership in environmental health has directly advanced resilience, equity and public health policy within Boston’s schools and frontline communities.
Are Brookline’s property taxes high? It depends how you measure
On May 5, Brookline voters will decide whether to approve a tax override, which would bring in $23.25 million for town services by hiking property taxes permanently. How residents vote may depend on whether they think taxes here are already too high. But it’s a question that eludes a simple answer.
Urban Refuge Students Lead Community Cleanup in East Boston
Urban Refuge recently demonstrated its commitment to community engagement by organizing a volunteer neighborhood cleanup in Maverick Square and surrounding streets in East Boston. Held on April 11 in partnership with the City of Boston and several BU student groups, the entirely student‑organized effort brought together 42 volunteers, including students and recent alumni, who collected more than 40 bags of trash while revitalizing one of the area’s most heavily trafficked public spaces.
What do former grisly mob haunts say about modern day Greater Boston?
It’s a transformation playing out across the region. As Greater Boston has gentrified, it has become less of a backdrop for working-class, clannish noirs that hinge on loyalty and limited life choices directed by Ben Affleck or Martin Scorsese. It’s now more of a hub of gentrifying young professionals, skyrocketing housing costs, and concerns about displacement.
In Massachusetts, Town Meetings Are Gatekeepers To New Development
Having deep roots in the region’s Puritan founding in the mid-17th century, town meetings were designed to decide fundamental things like land distribution, taxation, and infrastructure needs. They have now become make-or-break steps for large-scale developments.