Case Study of Popular Placemaking Program in Longwood Offers Inspiration and Lessons Learned to Other Medical, Academic, And Business Districts

How to enhance the vitality of urban areas and other “anchor districts” through programs and activities in parks and plazas is the focus of the newest white paper published by the Longwood Collective, the chief planner and principal steward of the world-renowned Longwood Medical and Academic Area (LMA), a 24/7/365 academic medical center in Boston.

One powerful tool for offering commuters better options are Transportation Management Associations. My organization, the Longwood Collective TMA, is one of 15 statewide associations that collectively offer a wide range of services to more than 400,000 residents in 48 communities. The work TMAs do includes promoting carpooling, cycling, and walking, and TMAs serve as a clearinghouse for information about the MBTA and other transit options. In our case, we run fleets of shuttle buses to provide last-mile solutions to and from major transit hubs, and identify congestion hot spots and work with the city and state to fix them. Additionally, TMAs like ours push for policies that support better commuter benefits, including a tax-relief law that provides better parity between commuters driving single-occupancy vehicles and those who opt for alternatives like regional bus service, ferries, the MBTA, and bicycling.

The Longwood Collective, the chief planner and principal steward of the world-renowned Longwood Medical and Academic Area (LMA), is honored to announce that its V.P. for Area Planning and Development Tom Yardley and Urban Planner/Designer Rachel Dowley Alexander were selected to present at the American Society of Landscape Architects’ (ASLA) recent “ScaleUp Conference on Landscape Architecture,’’ one of the industry’s most prestigious annual events.

A Message From the President

Dear Longwood,

A Message from the President

Dear Longwood,

A Message from the President

“I love my teacher because she is funny.” “My teachers give me hugs and goofs with me.”

These are examples of the rave reviews from some of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area’s (LMA) youngest visitors—for the teachers and staff at the Longwood Medical Area Child Care Center (LMACCC), one of the Longwood Collective’s most important services we provide to our members’ employees.

From David Sweeney, President and CEO:

Outside// resumed and revitalized its programming this year, bringing food trucks, outdoor seating, musical performances, fitness classes, dog petting and adoption, public art displays, games and book carts to patients, students, and visitors from May to October. During this season, Block-by-Block managed Outside//’s day-to-day operations which provided better tracking capabilities from Big Belly maintenance requests to foot traffic at placemaking sites.