Boston Design Center?

[NewTowner]

Hello! I am about to graduate from the Savannah College of Art and Design with an MA in Architectural History, and have always wanted to live in Boston.

Does Boston have a Civic Design Center, Main Street Program, or any other city/regional entity which concerns itself with the design and promotion of a healthy urban evironment downtown or elsewhere? What about Cambridge?

Any information about the cultural and organizational forces which help to shape Boston would be wonderful, appreciated, and helpful as a I contemplate a move to one of America's most vibrant and beautiful cities. Bostonians have so much to be proud of, and I would really love some insight into how the city works as a civic community.

As an example of what I am talking about, check out the Nashville Civic Design Center (http://www.civicdesigncenter.org) or the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority (http://www.sdra.net). Thanks!

[Cotuit]

Boston has the B.R.A. Boston Redevelopment Authority. There's also the Main Streets Program which focuses development and inprovements in specific sectors of Boston's neighborhoods.

[PghUSA]

^^Cotuit, I have always wondered how much the Commonwealth acts as a regional leader for Boston. Being from a state that spends much of its time making peace between two major metros, I am interested in how different the results are with Boston and it's State. Similar to how MassPort serves to increase Boston's influence in the region. Eager to learn how the mechanics of that work.

[Cotuit]

^^Cotuit, I have always wondered how much the Commonwealth acts as a regional leader for Boston.

There are several regional entities centered on Boston, MassPort, there was the MDC (Metropolitan District Commission) which oversaw regional parks, parkways, and community spaces (pools, skating rinks...) but that merged with the Department of Environmental Management, which is a statewide agency.

Really though, the cities and towns and Massachusetts pretty much go it alone. There's very little in the way of regionalism. In fact the cities and towns close in to Boston seem more fearcely independent than towns and cities further from Boston. The Cape is one of the only places with true regionalism in the form of the Cape Cod Commission.