Boston’s Next 250 Years: from Revolution to Resilience [10/14/25]

A panel discussion celebrating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and looking forward to the next 250 years.++++++++++++++++++++What will the next 250 years of Boston’s history look like? As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, it’s a good time to take stock of the most significant changes that have happened in the quarter millennium since 1775, and extrapolate out to what Boston might look like in 2275. We’ll have an evening of short talks and deep conversation around the history and future of housing, transportation, education, climate change and sustainability, social equity, energy and more. Rather than make detailed predictions, the point is to stimulate long-term thinking with an eye toward what we can do today to preserve options for future generations. We expect a mix of crazy ideas, diverse viewpoints, and grounded realism. "How can we be better ancestors?" as we say at Long Now Boston.Join us at the MIT Tang Center, building E51-345 at 6pm on Tuesday, Oct 14 for a fascinating, interactive discussion.Panelists will include:James Gray, Senior Principal at Stantec, co-leader of Boston’s residential business unit, where he spearheads many of the firm’s large, high-profile, mixed-use projects. He brings a passion for cities to his practice of urban architecture and is a strong advocate for transit-oriented design and bike/pedestrian friendly streets. He will bring some of his colleagues from Stantec as well, to share their vision for the future of housing and urban design in Boston.Hyun-A Park, president of Spy Pond Partners, a management consulting firm focused on transportation and infrastructure management. She'll share ideas about the future of transportation, transit and infrastructure in a warming world.Chris Osgood, Director of the Office of Climate Resilience for the City of Boston. He'll share the city's climate resilience plans and how we can prepare for and adapt to sea level rise.Nadia Dixson, Archivist at the City of Somerville. She'll share her vision of what we can and should save for the future, curation, and the dangers of digital records.John Sundman, a self-described novelist & essayist, Silicon Valley survivor, construction laborer and retired volunteer firefighter. He writes fiction and non-fiction about technology and the people who swear by it (and at it), about science & civilization, and especially about the convergence of biological & digital technologies. He'll share ideas on "how to future-proof yourself", and ways to imagine possible futures.