Thought some of you might find this to be of interest. The "Boston 2017" series talks about Boston 10 years down the line in terms of things like urban planning,economic growth, jobs, housing etc

Source (for main 2017 Page) : - http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/special_projects/2007/futureofboston




In 10 years You Will Be Able to...

By Doug Most | May 25, 2007

BASK IN A SKY-HIGH GARDEN Mayor Tom Menino expected fierce competition when he challenged developers to design a 1,000-foot tower. Instead, he only got Steve Belkin. No matter, because construction on Trans National Place will begin in 2008; the glass building is scheduled to open in 2011 and will, at last, give Boston a skyscraper worthy of a world-class city, with a rooftop garden to boot.

VIEW SOME NEW HAMPSHIRE TOWNS AS BOSTON SUBURBS It's not official, but one day not too far off, you should be able to travel here from Nashua or Manchester, New Hampshire, on a commuter train. (Right now, you have to hop on in Lowell.) The Granite State may still be affordable, but just wait until it becomes a true bedroom community.

RIDE THE T STRAIGHT INTO THE NEXT DAVIS SQUARE Somerville is already one of the country's most densely populated cities, and although eight train lines pass through it, only one stops there. A planned Green Line extension will take the T into the city's Union Square (promised to become hip like Davis). A second extension should add even more Somerville stops and end up in neighboring Medford. Once all this is completed, maybe by 2014, this blossoming city will be even more accessible.

SHOP AT A LUXURY WATERFRONT MALL It will look and feel like Copley Place when it opens in late 2008 or early 2009 – only Waterside Place will have spectacular waterfront views. Will it ever be as easy to get to as Copley Place? Absolutely. There is already a Silver Line station at the site, and when Phase III of the Silver Line is completed, those buses that now run on Washington Street will join the sleek below-ground routes already running along the waterfront and to the airport.

REACH THE CAPE MORE EASILY When the Greenbush Commuter Rail extension through Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate is finished this year, it will be that much easier to reach the Cape and Boston from the South Shore.

ENJOY THE WALK TO THE SEA What was conceived 40 years ago by I.M. Pei is now becoming a reality. This three-quarter-mile walk will start at the Suffolk Courthouse Plaza on Beacon Hill, pass through City Hall Plaza and Faneuil Hall, cross the Greenway and continue out to the end of Long Wharf, where a new cafe will sit.

SEE A TRANSFORMED JACKSON SQUARE One of Boston's notoriously violent neighborhoods, Jackson Square in Jamaica Plain will be cleaned up thanks to new retail shops, a youth and family center, an ice rink, and affordable housing. Construction is scheduled to take place between 2008 and 2013.

Check out the complete series at : - http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/special_projects/2007/futureofboston/

Sorry for the botched HTML. Seems to work differently after the recent changes :) Please use the links to go to the original articles if you are interested.

Thanks.

Cappy...howdy! Been too long/

oh wow! i cant wait for 2017 to see all the things promised by the city. I am curious why there was nothing mentioned about the Big Dig. Are they ever going to finish it? And what are the chances these projects will be done by 2017?

Hey Audrey! Long time indeed :) Hope all is well with you.

Boston Girl - Hope you are doing good. Yeah, the big dig seems never ending, no? :) Hopefully, that light we see at the end of the tunnel, is not a freight train coming head-on at us :P

(Not sure if this link will work but here's the latest from the Turnpike Authority that you might find to be of interest)

- http://www.masspike.com/bigdig/updates/timeline.html

....and needless to say, by then...

1) more than 90% of Nepalese will be in Boston:P.
2) official language will be either hindi or nepali :D
3) prachanda will shut down nepal and conduct a mass rally in boston. LOL!
4) gyanendra shah will have a small nepalese restuarant named "gyane shah ko nepali chiya pasal" :P
5) captain haddock will get married and will be living happily with ms. haddock and 10 kids to their name :P LOL!

:D

LooTe

wow that sounds promising haddock.... boston is already a lively city to live in and with all the new stuff it will make the city much better. interesting article by the way thanks for sharing.

I was at the town meeting last yr when they were talking about the extention of green line. The plan is still there. But MBTA is broke. There were a lotta option but town folks were not willing to pay for it out of their pocket. Maybe tap into some of that federal $$$ maybe. Since they announced that property value of UNION sq area has been sky rocketing. :-)