Preservation Plan is based largely on what we heard during this special community outreach effort. Read the results of our year-long 10th-anniversary community survey.

A Community Atlas for Making Choices about Change

Change is part of Newton's community character, so "community preservation" in Newton means shaping change rather than trying to stop it altogether. To provide a long-term perspective on Newton's choices about change, our 10th-anniversary meetings explored historic photographs and maps of each neighborhood, as well as the maps below. Some maps are large and may load slowly.

Community Turnover Every Newton neighborhood has experienced significant turnover in the last two decades. It's hard for a constantly changing community to think long-term, but community history can help.

Historic Villages Newton's neighborhoods are all historic, but they're not all the same. Each neighborhood reflects the transportation options available when it was first developed, and the City's current land use patterns still reflect these historical layers.

Housing & Economic Diversity Preserving community means preserving a mix of people as well as places. The proportion of low- and moderate-income households in Newton is shrinking, along with the supply of housing they can afford. But some neighborhoods are still less unaffordable than others.

Changing Historic Fabric (as of 2010; view 2016 update) Newton is a built-out community, but it is still changing through re-development. These maps color-code all existing buildings by the time period when they were built, and shows the distribution of recent permits for either partial or full demolition.

Designated Historic Resources Many historic properties in Newton have been documented. Some are protected as local landmarks or in local historic districts. But there is still a wide gap between the places recognized as historic and all the places with a history worth recognizing (see map above).

Undesignated Open Space How much of Newton's remaining undeveloped land should be preserved, where -- & how? This map shows all land in Newton that is not already occupied by a building, paved as a road or parking lot, or legally "designated" as a park or other open space (see next map).

Designated Open Space Many of Newton's parks, playgrounds, conservation areas, cemeteries and golf courses are partly on low-lying, wet land that remained undeveloped -- and inexpensive -- into the early 20th century. This map shows the uneven distribution of these "designated" open spaces.

Historic Water & Wetlands Compare this map of "Areas to Be Drained" to the map above. Newton's natural systems have been massively re-engineered since the late 19th century, but sometimes nature overwhelms our engineering.

Current Water, Wetlands & Watersheds The 5 main streams on the map above still connect Newton neighborhoods to each other & to the Charles River, but now they run mostly through underground culverts or fenced ditches. Many Newton residents learn their "watershed address" only during floods.

Archived Reports

• 2018 All Projects Report including map & lists with project descriptions & addresses, funding dates, CPA funding categories, non-CPA funds, etc. through Fiscal 2018 (This large file may load slowly.)
• 2018 All Funds & Spending Report, including all sources of funding, spending by resource, etc. through Fiscal 2018
• Fiscal 2016 Annual Report
• Fiscal 2015 Annual Report
• Fiscal 2013-14 Combined Annual Reports
• Fiscal 2011-12 Combined Annual Reports
• Fiscal 2010 Annual Report
• Fiscal 2009 Annual Report
• Fiscal 2008 Annual Report
• Fiscal 2007 Annual Report