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What is a community plan?

The Allston-Brighton Community Plan works between the City of Boston, local organizations and Allston-Brighton neighbors to create a shared vision of what the future of the neighborhood will look like. 

Who is leading the community plan?

The City of Boston will be leading the Community Plan along with a team of consultants (including Grayscale Collaborative, Agency Landscape + Planning, RKG Associates, Toole Design Group, and the Allston-Brighton Health Collaborative). 

They will be supported in data collection and analysis from a team of 10 Allston-Brighton residents, which make up the Community Advisory Committee. 

A conglomerate of city departments and organizations representing different neighborhood interests (including Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation, Allston Civic Association, Actor Observer, and Harvard University) make up the Planning Core Collaborative Group to develop implementable strategies.  

How will the community plan be used?

The Community Plan will compile recommendations and guidance on developments around new housing, areas for rezoning (e.g. type, appearance and density of new buildings), transportation and park spaces. The timeline for the Plan is to set the vision primarily for the next three to ten years (with some recommendations extending beyond ten years). Ultimately, it provides guidance for different actors (including the City, private businesses and developers) as they formulate plans for new developments and changes to the neighborhood. 

What has already been done? What’s next?

The Allston-Brighton Community Plan began in June 2024 and has a couple of stages:

• June to July 2024: Context and Analysis
• July to November 2024: Create a vision and design scenarios
• October 2024 to April 2025: Develop draft concepts and big ideas
• March 2025 to August 2025: Identify zoning implications
• June 2025 to December 2025: Implementation strategy and report

Throughout the process, the City will seek input from the community at several steps. Most recently, the City held an open house this past July for the community plan. Following an October 2024 open house, they posted a presentation summarizing the input from Allston-Brighton residents. They also hosted data exhibits, which are posted online here. 

According to Brittany Comak, Assistant Director of Communications for the City of Boston Planning Department, the next event will be hosted in the winter, focusing on developing ten focus areas in Allston-Brighton. In a statement to Allstonia, Comak writes that the focus areas will “illustrate ways that the community vision could take shape and some of the tools that we could use to get there.” ■