• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

DEAR READER: ABOUT THIS BRA NAME CHANGE BS

Written by CHRIS FARAONE Posted September 27, 2016 Filed Under: COLUMNS, News, NEWS+OPINIONS

bra

We knew the new BRA logo reminded us of something

 

Dear Reader,

 

You may have seen an article or TV news snippet this week about how the Boston Redevelopment Authority re-branded itself as the Boston Planning and Development Agency. Don’t be fooled just because city officials are counting on it.

 

This name-changing charade is insulting, and only possible because so many residents either don’t know—or don’t give a damn—about how Boston is the last major metropolis in America with an urban renewal agency. This means that the city, through the BRA, has the extreme power to bypass standard protocol and dodge public scrutiny in making significant calls about, you guessed it, planning and development. For proof of why the agency is incapable of making important decisions, just consider that the BRA board itself approved the $670,000 expenditure for hiring the marketing wizards who cooked up the name Boston Planning and Development Agency.

 

The BRA and the administration of Mayor Marty Walsh would likely dispute this characterization of a nefarious enterprise, which shields the rich and powerful from scrutiny, as would the rich and powerful themselves—contractors, developers, and property owners, all of whom are handcuffed to the BRA matrix. But while they may argue that the moniker tweak is part of a larger reform effort to “re-envision the agency’s identity,” the only thing that really matters is that their entire campaign is nothing more than a hoodwink, and that they expect us to buy it.

 

CHRIS FARAONE, NEWS + FEATURES EDITOR

Author profile
CHRIS FARAONE

A Queens, NY native who came to New England in 2004 to earn his MA in journalism at Boston University, Chris Faraone is the editor and co-publisher of DigBoston and a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He has published several books including 99 Nights with the 99 Percent, and has written liner notes for hip-hop gods including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Nas, and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Related posts
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    "Orange Line" Calamities and Shutdowns Going Back More Than a Century
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    The Great Outdoors (Video): On Location At Coastal Cultivars In Wareham
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    In the Waiting Room With Rapper Turned Podcaster-Author Jake Fraczek
  • CHRIS FARAONE
    https://digboston.com/author/chris-faraone/
    Upcoming TeeHC Open Promises Doubly Green Golf Outing and More

Filed Under: COLUMNS, News, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: Boston, Boston Planning and Development Agency, Boston Redevelopment Authority, BRA, development, gentrification, logos, re-branding, urban planning

WHAT’S NEW

New Superintendent Skipper Responds To BPS Student Concerns

New Superintendent Skipper Responds To BPS Student Concerns

"Orange Line" Calamities and Shutdowns Going Back More Than a Century

“Orange Line” Calamities and Shutdowns Going Back More Than a Century

Guest Opinion: To Solve Accessible Housing Shortage, Mass Should Look To ... Paris

Guest Opinion: To Solve Accessible Housing Shortage, Mass Should Look To … Paris

One Effort To Help Improve Public Transportation In Mass Bolstered

One Effort To Help Improve Public Transportation In Mass Bolstered

State Wire: Massachusetts Ranks #1 in Child Well-Being

State Wire: Massachusetts Ranks #1 in Child Well-Being

Trump-Loving Mass Republican Party Freaks Out Over Mar-a-Lago Raid

Trump-Loving Mass Republican Party Freaks Out Over Mar-a-Lago Raid

Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

FEATURED EVENT

Advertisement

Most Popular

  • The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 
  • Inside the Bay State’s Legendary (and Only) One-Man Brewery
  • Worcester’s Wasteful, Never-Ending War on Police Transparency
  • Governor’s Council Weighs Controversial Parole Board Renomination
  • The “Biggest Masshole In Massachusetts” Is Running For Secretary Of State

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): [email protected]