Amy Dain
CW Magazine
Newton, MA, United States
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Past articles by Amy:
Overcoming the restrictions on multi-family housing
Last in a series. CITIES AND TOWNS of Greater Boston have a long history of using zoning to restrict development of multi-family housing that might accommodate families with children. The systematic restrictions have disadvantaged multi-generational households seeking homes in condo or apartment buildings. The restrictions have also undermined the housing market’s dynamism and its ability to… → Read More
Route 128 needs land use leadership
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT of press about Greater Boston’s housing shortage and growth pains. The suburbs are over-restricting development, home prices are escalating, and traffic is still stealing family dinners and putting jobs at risk. What has garnered less attention is Greater Boston’s plan for growth — what the plan is, and what it(...) → Read More
Give accessory apartments a shot
FOR DECADES, housing experts and planners have been advocating for cities and towns to allow for the owners of single family houses to add accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to their properties. The recommendation has been listed in most master plans and housing plans, going back decades. Yet only 37 out of 100 cities and towns(...) → Read More
Moving on from car-as-king development
THE DESIGN DILEMMA for America’s current generation of city builders is what to do about cars, and in particular parking. Our most beloved places were built before cars became the common person’s primary means for autonomy and travel. Yet reversion to car-free design, even if it makes sense to reduce auto emissions, is not yet(...) → Read More
Where should new housing go?
GREATER BOSTON has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and not nearly enough housing. Where should new housing go to accommodate so many people? Get the Daily Download Our news roundup delivered every weekday.Email* To understand our region’s current answer, I have pored over local zoning codes, housing plans, and permitting data in 100 cities(...) → Read More
Mystic + Malden: A development case study
GREATER BOSTON is adding jobs and population, but not enough housing and too much traffic. How do we accommodate development to improve our lives? A proving ground for aspiring city builders is at the intersection of the Mystic River and Malden River, at the edges of Somerville, Everett, Medford, and Malden. Across Greater Boston, find(...) → Read More
Zoning – the good and the bad
HOVERING BY THE FAIRY TALE playground, by the pumpkin carriage and turreted castles, behind the swings, was a wall of murky glass, an abandoned factory. There were no other factories around my childhood park in Newtonville, just a pleasing selection of unique houses, arranged along sidewalks that led to a village center with a candy(...) → Read More
Guess what’s anchoring many small downtowns?
THE NEW ENGLAND MOBILE BOOK FAIR of my childhood wasn’t exactly mobile; it was a cavernous cinderblock warehouse of a store in Newton. Yet visiting the store was like going on a voyage, something like a trip to the Dead Sea caves where you might stumble upon ancient scrolls. A couple of years ago, I(...) → Read More
Malls reinventing themselves as ‘lifestyle centers’
WHEN NEWTON’S ATRIUM MALL croaked, I figured Spotify’s shopping playlists would soon enough feature a Requiem for the Mall. And a Hymn for Amazon. Surely, all the malls of my youth – Chestnut Hill and the Arsenal, too – were doomed! But so far, there’s been no massacre of malls, no requiem needed. The Chestnut(...) → Read More