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Projects

We are currently working in the following areas.  Please contact the listed project manager if you’d like to get involved.

Art in Vacant Spaces

  • Summary:  Coordinate artists and landowners to place art from local artists in vacant store windows.
  • Status:  We have identified model programs, outlined logistical challenges, and secured interest from local real estate brokers.
  • Needs:  Interested artists, business owners and real estate owners; Volunteers to make connections among them
  • Project Manager:  Matt Cuddy

Business Associations

  • Summary:  Help village businesses cooperate for mutual benefit and to create a coherent voice for village merchants.
  • Status:  We have met with the Chamber, business reps, civic leaders and City staff to discuss the possibility of business improvement districts (BIDs) in Newton.  BIDs are a mechanism by which a group of neighboring land owners, and the merchants that pay them rent, can put funds into a shared pot dedicated for the improvement of the area.  More information is available here.
  • Needs:  Interested real estate brokers, managers and owners
  • Project Manager:  Matt Cuddy

Improving Our Business Mix

  • Summary:  We are developing recommendations for the kinds of businesses that would add variety and help our village centers prosper.
  • Status:  We have completed business inventories for three village centers, and are beginning to analyze the results.
  • Needs:  Volunteers willing to help with writing, number-crunching, data entry, photography, and walking the village centers.
  • Project Manager:  Chris Steele

Improving Public Deliberation on Development Proposals

  • Summary:  Following on the heels of the mayor’s Mixed Use Task Force, we are preparing a handful of guest columns for the TAB to help set the stage for more nuanced discussion of new development ideas.
  • Status:  One column has been drafted, and another is in conceptual mock-up.
  • Project Manager:  John Pears

Overview of What Makes Villages Great: A Workshop

  • Summary:  We are planning an expert-led forum on the key ingredients for a pleasant and dynamic village center.
  • Status:  Themes, speakers, and venue are under discussion now.
  • Project Manager:  Andrea Kelley

Pedestrian Safety

  • Summary:  Enhance pedestrian safety in villages through studies, advocating for investments, etc.
  • Project Manager:  John Sisson

Public Spaces

  • Summary:  Improve the appearance and function of streetscape through bike racks, kiosks, signage, landscaping etc.
  • Project Manager:  John Sisson

Restaurant Seating

  • Summary:  Increase seating & activity indoors and/or outdoors at restaurants by advocating for policy change.
  • Project Manager:  Matt Cuddy
Scavenger Hunts:  Taking the Pulse of the Villages
  • Summary:  Teams will scour various village centers for items, such as “a GREAT window display” or “a senior citizen using the sidewalk,” that indicate how well the village works.
  • Status:  We have conducted a pilot run in Newtonville, and are preparing for our first full Hunt in the fall.
  • Needs:  We need event planners, photographers, and scavengers.
  • Project Manager:  Matt Cuddy


Village Business Profiles

  • Summary:  Survey businesses with a storefront in a village center, and publicize the survey results, one-by-one, in a regular news feature.  The goal is to publicize and support the local merchants of Newton’s village centers, who help make them places worth visiting.
  • Status:  Several have been published on this site, with more in the hopper.
  • Needs:  Business owners interested in being profiled; Volunteers to visit new businesses to encourage them to submit a profile.

Are you the owner of one of these special businesses? Complete this profile form and e-mail it to Pam Boiros at the link below.  We look forward to hearing from you!