In 2003, the Lowell City Council endorsed the City’s first Comprehensive Master Plan in 30 years. Prepared by the City’s Division of Planning and Development and approved by the Lowell Planning Board, this plan was created to both serve as the “framework for development over the next 20 years and to establish a comprehensive and shared vision for the future.”

While the Plan has effectively guided the City’s development plans and strategy and this vision remains salient for Lowell, much has changed both locally and regionally in the years since its release. The Hamilton Canal District development is well underway and the University is expanding. Simultaneously, the housing bubble has burst, unemployment rates have risen, and new challenges are emerging.  In order for the City of Lowell to continue to plan for the opportunities and challenges that may arise, it is important to update the Master Plan from time to time, as DPD has done between 2011-2013. 

The result is Sustainable Lowell 2025, the City's updated Comprehensive Master and Sustainability Plan, which provides a shared vision for the on-going development and revitalization of the City, with particular emphasis on economic, social and environmental sustainability.  The document, pending adoption by the Lowell Planning Board and endorsement of the City Council in March 2013, is available here.

Additional information on the planning process is available below:

Survey

Meetings

Reports

Presentations

Community PlanIt

Lowell Sustainability Week

Sustainability Snapshots Photography Contest

Primary Contact:

Allegra Williams
Neighborhood Planner
Department of Planning and Development
Phone: (978) 674-4252