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Reuse Plans for Boston’s Navy Yards and Military Bases: “Balanced Growth Reuse Strategies for Military Base Conversions,” Boston, United States, 1993-1996

Abstract

Between 1993 and 2008, the Unit for Housing and Urbanization (the Unit, later I2UD) compiled three urban planning reports for the reuse of decommissioned military bases and historic navy shipyards in Boston and other areas of Massachusetts in the United States.

The first report, “Balanced Growth Reuse Strategies for Military Base Conversions” (1993), was a Technical Assistance and Research and Evaluation led by François Vigier, from the Unit, and Victor W. Karen, from the City of Boston’s planning agency. The undertaking was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA). The EDA in turn supported the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) to assist communities through the military base decommissioning process and transition to civilian life.

The report presented urban planning approaches to harness the potential social and economic reuse of U.S. military bases scheduled for closure. Forts included:

  • Fort Devens, MA, an army base in a rural setting (c. 1996);
  • Charleston Navy Yard, SC, a navy facility in an urban setting; and
  • Lowry Air Force Base, CO, an air force installation in a suburban setting.

Local professionals were consulted for the study, including leading educators and urban planning experts in the Boston area from the mid-1990s, including Robert W. Rush, James English, Paul Van Dien Davis, William Poorvu, and Alan Altshuler.

The second report, “Reuse Strategies for Military Base Conversions ” (1996), was authored by the Unit team, led by Vigier and Edward Robbins (Lecturer in Urban Design). Documents include an Executive Report, a Summary Report, and Main report. The strategy addressed four points of value in the specific case of Boston’s base zones: historic value, regional economic trends, investment for economic growth, and the centralization of a community input process in the formulation of a closure strategy for Boston’s bases. Overall, this pair of reports are excellent models of the Unit’s early style of professional urban planning.

The third report, “A Case Study of Fort Devens: The Transition to Civilian Use” (2008), authored by I2UD research associate Erick Guerra, expanded on the previous reports and provided an updated examination of the reuse plans for the former military base in rural Massachusetts, highlighting the cooperation as well as competing interests amongst stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels in converting the land to civilian use.

See also: The Redevelopment of Charleston Navy Yard, Boston Case Study, 2001 (Project ID: 2001_03_001).

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Project Year1993-1996
Project Type:Technical Assistance
Geographic Regions:United States
Reports:
Authors:François Vigier; Victor W. Karen; Edward Robbin; Robert W. Rush; James English; Paul Van Dien Davis
Sponsors:U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)
Categories:Urban Finance
  
ID:1996_12_001

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