The final event of the Boston Harbor Conference, convened by MIT, The Boston Globe and WCVB-TV5, will be a town meeting televised live from Faneuil Hall on Thursday, May 21 from 7:30-9pm.
The town meeting, which is open to the public, will begin with a presentation by five national panelists, including Jerry A. Hausman, professor of economics at MIT. The panelists are expected to make 10 recommendations on how the harbor and its environs can best be developed for the 21st century.
A local respondent panel representing key constituencies for the development of Boston Harbor will explore whether the recommendations can serve as a framework for future action to shape the development of the harbor and its waterfront.
"The goals of the town meeting are to present an informed and cogently argued set of development recommendations, helping to improve quality of life and strengthen Greater Boston's regional econo-my," said Thomas J. Piper, a principal research scientist in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and executive director of The Boston Harbor Conference.
To prepare for the town meeting, the Boston Harbor Conference convened three public forums earlier in May. At these, the national panel was exposed to critical issues in three topic areas: the environment, the visitor economy and development options.
At tomorrow's town meeting, which will be moderated by Arthur Miller of Harvard Law School, the national panel will present its recommendations and be cross-examined on the findings.
The Boston Harbor Conference is principally funded by Fleet Financial Group. For more information on the town meeting, call (617) 437-0826.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 20, 1998.
