Tactical Neighborhood Plazas
Tactical neighborhood plazas are public open spaces created out of underutilized street space where people can gather, rest, and build community.
PLAZAS
New Edgerly Plaza
FENWAY
A vibrant community gathering space and pedestrian plaza on New Edgerly Road in Fenway
Birch Street Plaza
Roslindale
A commercial hub and neighborhood gathering place on Birch Street in Roslindale
Phillips Square
CHINATOWN
A public plaza that is helping make Chinatown safer, greener, and more enjoyable for residents and visitors.
Program Overview
Program OverviewBoston’s unique charm stems in part from its dense network of sometimes irregular streets. These streets were once a chaotic mix of pedestrians, carriages, trolleys, and bicycles. Throughout the 20th century, street infrastructure was shaped to segregate different users, and most of the space was given over to automobiles.
In dense neighborhoods of Boston, pedestrian space is often limited to narrow sidewalks, with relatively few opportunities for outdoor gathering spaces. Boston has joined a growing number of cities taking advantage of streets with excess or redundant pavement, and is turning them into public plazas and parks.
Rather than just serving vehicles as transportation networks, our streets can be spaces in which to convene, create, and experiment. The enhanced roles that streets can play in Boston include:
- Streets as Living Rooms: Our streets can be vibrant “third spaces” where communities are forged, and infrastructure can foster meaningful interactions among people of all ages and backgrounds. Tactical plazas provide formal and informal opportunities for neighbors to gather and strengthen community connections.
- Streets as Canvasses: Plazas can serve as platforms for creativity and expression, where musicians, dancers, and street artists are given stages and spaces to flourish.
- Streets as Experiments: Establishing new public open spaces across Boston provides us with an opportunity to test and improve approaches to public space partnerships, activation, management, and maintenance.
A FAMILY-FRIENDLY CITY
Safe, accessible, and welcoming intergenerational spaces where people of all ages can gather, play, and rest helps Boston be more family-friendly. Public spaces where families can spend time together such as plazas, playgrounds, community gardens, and libraries provide families with free and low-cost opportunities to spend time together and connect with their neighbors.
CLIMATE RESILIENT NEIGHBORHOODS
Street trees, greenery, umbrellas, shade from buildings, and shade structures make outdoor areas more comfortable and provide relief from the heat for residents, particularly children and older adults, by reducing surface temperatures and mitigating the heat island effect. Comfortable shaded spaces invite people to walk, bike, or gather even during hotter days, sustaining vibrant public life.
SAFE & STRONG COMMUNITIES
Vibrant “third spaces” where communities are forged and infrastructure fosters meaningful interactions among diverse groups of people can increase social ties and anchor community pride and belonging. Parks, plazas, and recreational third spaces promote healthy activities and facilitate social connections — making communities safer, stronger, and more resilient.
A VIBRANT LOCAL ECONOMY
Attractive public spaces encourage people to spend more time in an area, which often translates into higher spending at nearby shops, restaurants, and markets. Public spaces and pedestrianized areas that accommodate street markets, pop-ups, and cultural events also give entrepreneurs low-barrier opportunities to test and grow businesses.
Tactical neighborhood plazas are flexible public spaces that can include a variety of elements to support community gathering, local businesses, and safe pedestrian use. Every plaza is unique and includes a combination of elements based on community needs, physical conditions, and available partnerships such as:
- Edge treatments and barriers to delineate the space including planters, traffic barriers, temporary curbs, and reflective materials
- Ground graphics and public art that bring the plaza to life with color, vibrancy, and a sense of place
- Street furniture such as chairs and tables to encourage people to sit, rest, or socialize
- Planters and greenery to make the space more welcoming and comfortable
- Wayfinding signage to provide people with information about the plaza, upcoming events, and opportunities to get involved
- Flexible open space that can be used for pop-up markets, performances, and community events
- Bicycle parking such as bike racks and Bluebikes stations to make it easier for people to visit the plaza
- Play elements like ping-pong tables, chessboards, and climbable structures
- Outdoor dining areas to support adjacent businesses
Neighborhood plazas are a partnership between the City and neighborhood groups, small business organizations, or major property owners. The City has committed to assist the funding and creation of new tactical neighborhood plazas and prioritizes new locations where there is strong community interest and partnership potential. The long-term success of each neighborhood plaza requires strong partnerships with community partners who can support the plaza design, stewardship, maintenance, and activation. Successful plazas are embraced by those who use them and are cared for by community partners that provide “eyes on the plaza” and have a true sense of ownership.
Community members interested in creating a tactical plaza in their neighborhood are encouraged to communicate with their neighbors to gain community support for the plaza. Community support for a new plaza should include evidence or letters of support from local stakeholders such as civic associations, Main Streets organizations, property owners, adjacent businesses, neighborhood boards, and district city councilors.
Before a plaza is created, the City will identify one or more plaza partners that will help steward and activate the plaza after construction is complete. Depending on the plaza location and capacity of the plaza partners, the partnership may include a maintenance agreement with the City of Boston to ensure proper upkeep and/or an activation agreement to help coordinate events and programming at the plaza.
Past Projects
Past Projects
Tontine Crescent Tactical Plaza
In 2018, we created a tactical pedestrian plaza on Franklin Street using temporary barriers, planters, pavement graphics, and street furniture. The plaza was permanently constructed in 2021 and now features wider sidewalks, garden beds, planters with built-in seating, enhanced streetlighting, bike racks, a raised cycle track, improved wheelchair ramps, and upgraded traffic signals.
Liberty Square Pop-up Plaza
In 2019, we hosted a pop-up plaza at Liberty Square in Downtown Boston. The pop-up plaza was well attended and enjoyed by pedestrians, Downtown office workers, and visitors to nearby restaurants. Building on positive community feedback, we completed an initial design concept for a year-round tactical plaza at Liberty Square and hope to implement it in the future.
Brighton Center Pilot Plaza
In 2021, we created a new car-free pedestrian space in Brighton Center at Market Street and Washington Street. This two-week pilot transformed a vehicle turn lane into a pedestrian plaza that featured live music, community meetings, plant markets, and other events and activities.
