Vision & Mission

A Better City represents a multi-sector group of nearly 130 business leaders united around a common vision: to create a more vibrant, competitive, sustainable, and equitable city and region for all. Our mission is to engage the Greater Boston business community and civic institutions in developing solutions and influencing policy through research and collaboration on transportation, climate, and land use issues.  

I-90 Allston Multimodal Project: The Time is Now

I-90 ALLSTON PROJECT UPDATE

Publications

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The Shade Effect: A Quantitative Analysis of Shade Interventions in Boston by the B-COOL Partnership

In the summer of 2025, the B-COOL team worked with the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Boston Office of Climate Resilience, Franklin Park Zoo, and Turner Construction Company to deploy kestrel sensors to measure the impact of . . . Read More
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2025 Year in Review

Throughout 2025, A Better City was proud to partner with you,and with the Healey-Driscoll Administration, State Legislature,and Wu Administration, to navigate a year marked by economicchallenges and uncertainty. We worked together to . . . Read More
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Boosting Bluebikes

In 2024, the Bluebikes bikeshare system, easily recognizable by its title sponsor, Blue Cross Blue Shield, introduced e-bikes to its growing fleet of bicycles for the first time in its 14-year history. The all-new, immensely popular . . . Read More
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Feeling the Heat: B-COOL Pilot Explores the Efficacy of Heat Emergency Protocols in Boston’s Hotspot Neighborhoods

This Report shares the findings of the B-COOL 2024 temperature sensor pilot, which deployed 15 temperature sensors across environmental justice hotspot neighborhoods in Boston and compared their data to official heat emergency declaration . . . Read More
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Greening the Blue Line

In celebration of Earth Week, A Better City released Greening the Blue Line, a report undertaken in collaboration with Civic Space Collaborative and Weston & Sampson and with generous support from the Stone Living Lab. This project . . . Read More

2026 Norman B. Leventhal Awards

 

The 2026 Norman B. Leventhal Excellence in City Building Awards will take place on Monday, December 7th, 2026 at 5:30PM at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Learn more about sponsoring this years awards below.

Named in memory of A Better City’s founding director, the Norman B. Leventhal Awards recognize the leaders and innovators who have made significant contributions to our built environment. This year, A Better City will honor an inspiring slate of civic leaders that are continuing to build a better city for all: Lee Pelton for Distinguished Leadership, Mariella Puerto for Environment, David Greaney for Land Use, and Vineet Gupta for Transportation.

To learn more, and to sponsor this year, check out our sponsorship packet here

Check out the 2025 Norman B. Leventhal Award Show 

Greenway Business Improvement District (BID)

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