About

About MAPC’s Regional Indicators Project

Metro Boston Regional Indicators is a project that measures the region’s progress in achieving the goals of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s long-range regional plan. MetroFuture: Making a Greater Boston Region is MAPC’s comprehensive plan to improve the lives of the people who live and work in Metropolitan Boston. MetroFuture identifies 65 goals for the region to achieve by 2030, categorized into six topic areas including Prosperity, Transportation, Sustainable Growth Patterns, Housing Choices, Community Vitality, and Environment. Metro Boston Regional Indicators identifies relevant indicators for each of these six topic areas and quantifies the region’s progress, or lack thereof, in working towards MAPC’s MetroFuture Goals for 2030.

Acknowledgements

MAPC was fortunate to have input from an esteemed group of advisors on the methodological approach and findings of the Prosperity Indicators analysis. Advisors included academics, state officials, community organizers, and other researchers from the Boston Indicators Project at the Boston Foundation, the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Community Labor United, Crittenton Women’s Union, the Department of Public Policy at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, the Dukakis Center at Northeastern University, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandies University, Mass Budget and Policy Center, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, and the Rappaport Institute at Harvard University.

About MAPC

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) is a regional planning agency serving the people who live and work in the 101 cities and towns of Metro Boston. Our mission is to promote smart growth and regional collaboration. We work toward sound municipal management, sustainable land use, protection of natural resources, efficient and affordable transportation, a diverse housing stock, public safety, economic development, an informed public, and equity and opportunity among people of all backgrounds. Read our updated Strategic Plan for 2010-2015. Read MAPC's Annual Report for more details on recent projects and accomplishments. A critical component of MAPC’s mission is to advance equity and cultural competency both internally and in our work throughout the region. Learn more about equity at MAPC.

MAPC and MetroFuture regions

The MAPC region contains 101 cities and towns in Greater Boston, including coastal communities, older industrial centers, rural towns and modern cities. Learn more about the characteristics of the communities in our region using the Community Snapshots tool or Regional Map Gallery on the MetroBoston DataCommon. The analysis for Metro Boston Regional Indicators stretches beyond the boundaries of MAPC’s 101 cities and towns to include the 164 municipalities that make up the transportation modeling area for the region’s MPO.

About the MetroBostonDataCommon

Much of the data behind the indicators on this site are available for download on MAPC’s DataCommon (MBDC). The MBDC provides a wealth of information about the region’s people and communities through a variety of topics -- from arts and education to the environment and transportation. A resource for all those seeking to understand how the region is changing, it helps residents, stakeholders, planners, city and town officials, educators and journalists explore data and make informed decisions. We invite you to explore its data, community snapshots and create your own visualizations and reports.