I am pleased to present the final reports prepared by the graduate students from the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Study (MIT). Under the guidance of Professor Terry Szold, three teams of students in the "Community Growth and Land Use Planning" course conducted research resulting in certain findings and planning recommendations for West Newton, Newton Centre, and the City's permitting process.

The study methodology included gathering and reviewing the City's planning documents, including A Framework for Newton's Planning, meeting with various stakeholders, conducting site visits, analyzing the gathered information, and formulating recommendations based on the findings. The students presented their research at two public meetings on November 14 and December 4, 2001. The final presentation on December 4 took into account feedback and comments received at the earlier public meeting. Both public meetings were well attended by residents, business owners, elected officials, and department staff.

It is my commitment to ensure that these three documents do not fall victim to "gathering dust on a shelf" syndrome. In addition to making these documents available to the public on the City’s Webpage, I will be holding community meetings in Newton Centre and West Newton in the near future. I hope that you will take an active interest by reviewing the documents and attending the upcoming meetings. Your opinion and feedback are very valuable in shaping the changes to your neighborhood centers. If you have any questions, I can be reached by phone at (617) 552-7135 or by e-mail at mkruse@ci.newton.ma.us.

Sincerely,

Michael Kruse, Director

 

Newton Center

West Newton Part I

West Newton Part II

Permitting Process