The intent of the Rapid Recovery Plan program was to provide every municipality in Massachusetts the opportunity to develop actionable, project-based recovery plans tailored to the unique economic challenges and COVID-19-related impacts on downtowns, town centers, and commercial areas across the Commonwealth. The program provided technical assistance through plan facilitators assigned to each community applicant (e.g., city, town, or nonprofit entity) and subject-matter experts who supported the development of ideas for project recommendations and shared knowledge through best practice webinars and individual consultations.

WGI served as a plan facilitator for the City of New Bedford, whose goal was to engage a regional audience to return to downtown for dining, shopping, and arts and culture-based programming. Following the diagnostic phase of the report, WGI worked in close coordination with the community to develop a set of recommendations that address priority challenges and opportunities. Project recommendations were rooted in a set of improvements across six categories: public realm, private realm, revenue and sales, administrative capacity, tenant mix, and cultural/arts. The projects included placemaking to build off recent shared streets’ success, outdoor arts and cultural programming, district marketing, and expanded technical assistance programs for businesses.

Every project has a story – Explore the New Bedford Rapid Recovery Planning story at the link below:

• New Bedford – Rapid Recovery Plan

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

• Master Planning
• Massing Study
• Public Outreach Meetings
• Opportunity Zones
• Visioning