CityOfBoston Official An official website of the City of Boston

This is the website for the City of Boston’s new Planning Department, which launched on July 1. The staff and many responsibilities of the Boston Planning & Development Agency have moved to the Planning Department of the City of Boston including planning & zoning, urban design, development review, and real estate divisions. Please excuse any misalignment you may see on our site as we transition to the City. Learn more

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The Boston Smart Utilities (BSU) Program aims to establish equitable, resilient, and innovative infrastructure in the City of Boston using the Article 80B Development Review process. Five Smart Utility Technologies (SUTs) across energy, water, telecommunications, and transportation broaden Smart City solutions.

Smart Utilities Review Process

Each stage of the Article 80 Development Review process involves Smart Utilities review as well as several city departments and agencies. The review process begins with the submission of a Project Notification Form, which must include three documents:

View the Smart Utilities Checklist template

Upon receipt, the Smart Utilities team will review the submission to ensure the project conforms with all required Smart Utility Technologies, determined by the project's size.

Smart Utilities Technology (SUT) Portal

Outlined below are the five SUTs and their respective project thresholds. Use the links provided to navigate to more detailed descriptions of each Smart Utilities Technology.

Program Background

For further background on the Smart Utilities Policy, including the program’s backstory, active policy considerations, and plans for future action, please visit the Background and History page.