Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Tuesday named a veteran urban planner to spearhead her makeover of the city's planning and development process.
James Arthur Jemison II, the principal deputy assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development in President Joe Biden's administration, is scheduled to become Boston's first planning chief in late May. Through the role, Wu wants to change how Boston builds.
Wu will ask the board of the Boston Planning and Development Administration to appoint Jemison to head that agency. And it will be from that position that Jemison will supervise the remaking of the development process into two distinct operations: one for planning, the other for development. In this role, Jemison will coordinate the land use policies across all of Boston’s departments, ranging from the public schools to the transportation department to the office of housing.
“In this moment of urgent challenge and opportunity," Wu said, "Boston’s growth must reflect the possibilities for our brightest future — from affordable housing and racial equity, to climate resilience and healthy, connected communities.”
Jemison's appointment returns him to Boston, where he previously served as a state deputy undersecretary of the department of housing and community development under governor Deval Patrick. He has also held planning roles within The Massachusetts Port Authority and the BPDA under its former name the Boston Redevelopment Authority or BRA, as many long-time Bostonians call it.
Jemison received his undergraduate education at UMass Amherst, and received a masters from MIT.
"I'm incredibly grateful to Mayor Wu for the opportunity to bring my expertise and passion for equitable development back to Boston,” Jemison said. “I am honored to have the opportunity to work with Bostonians to reform the development process and create the kind of growth that reflects our values.”
