Each independent land-use decision can seem like a wonky event, interesting only to neighbors, developers, and the occasional housing economist. The developer has pecuniary reasons to want the project, the neighbors resist significant changes, and the economist’s complaint — that limiting supply makes our unaffordable region even more expensive — seems overblown in discussions of a single development.
But these individual decisions add up and collectively shape our region. In effect, our metropolitan planning is being implemented at the sidewalk level, by abutters who see the downside of every project and who can’t possibly be expected to take the larger view.
If we want a better Boston, we must recognize that building for the future involves some departures from what we’ve historically done. Triple-deckers, for instance, were a brilliant means of providing inexpensive housing a century ago. They are not the right housing for the mid-21st century. The City of Boston has wisely encouraged the greening — through better insulation and other steps — of these energy-intensive reminders of a bygone age. But it would be even wiser to rebuild the city with modern technology and higher density levels.
To do so will take an explicit commitment to allow these changes to happen. I hope for a region filled with exciting walking spaces, where pedestrians wonder at ever-changing marvels created by urban entrepreneurs. I want Boston’s past to be ever visible, but never overwhelming. I hope for public art that changes with the season and public spaces that bring people together, instead of serving as a reminder of some architect’s hubris.