At today’s Arrowstreet Update, our bi-weekly office meeting, Associate Jordan Zimmermann presented the work she has been doing with the ULI Boston TAP (technical assistance panel) program in East Boston. Through the Kresge Foundation, NOAH (Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, East Boston), received a $100,000 grant to fund this research. The TAP had several goals to assist NOAH, including identifying community and agency asset overlaps that would offer opportunities for partnership, and creating a framework for decision making. The panelists determined East Boston’s assets, including natural resources, health and human welfare, and infrastructure, and then categorized them. This allowed the panel to create a strategy of what to do both in the long and short term. One of the questions which asked by the staff was what low or no cost choices we as architects could make that would help to lessen the impact of flooding. Jordan said that we should be thinking about taking utilities, particularly boilers, out of basements.
If you are interested in learning more, Jordan and the ULI Boston TAP will be presenting their work next Thursday at ABX. Register here.
Topics: Infrastructure, Planning, Sustainability