In collaboration with John Hancock, the City of Boston’s Age Strong Commission, Age-Friendly Boston, AARP Massachusetts, and UMass Boston, Healthy Places by Design is leading Activating Boston, a one-year pilot initiative supporting two Boston neighborhoods to activate public green spaces in ways that bring people together and build community. These collaborators will help neighborhood organizations, residents, and local partners create inclusive and intergenerational public spaces that build and support social connections, health, and wellbeing. Nonprofit grantees—Asian Community Development Corporation (Chinatown) and Four Corners Main Streets (Dorchester)—were selected because of their experience working in diverse neighborhoods with health disparities, historic disinvestment, and environmental heat stress. Each grantee will build on existing community-led efforts for improving public greenspaces and wellbeing.
Healthy Places by Design and partners will assist neighborhood organizations to create neighborhood priority plans; connect neighborhood leaders with city officials in planning, public works, parks, and other relevant agencies; and support shared learning and exchange across neighborhoods to strengthen networking, inform actions, and support project outcomes.