FutureBoston, Inc. is a non-profit organization focused on connecting the people of Boston with the future of their city. Boston is undergoing unprecedented change, with several multi-billion dollar projects going on at the same time, including the Big Dig, the development of the South Boston Waterfront, the Convention Center, a new Fenway Park, and others.

With all the changes going on, it is very hard for anyone to come to understand what the developments will be like when completed. When we see an ocean of cranes and bulldozers, it is hard to imagine what will be there when the cranes are gone. FutureBoston will create a comprehensive web site that will help make the future more understandable to anyone who is interested. Using graphics, maps, photos, links, databases and other tools, we'll make it easy to navigate the current state of many projects, and understand what it looks like today, what it will look like tomorrow, and also where what we know ends and the unplanned future begins.

So our first mission is to involve people in the city as it grows and changes. Our second mission is to help the people who are actually building the city -- the planners, developers, architects, builders, lawyers, city officials, state officials, federal officials, community organizations, etc. We will help by making people aware of the work they do, and humanizing the task of building a city. Through a series of profiles about key people, we'll help people understand who is doing what in the future of Boston. Further, we will develop tools that help the professionals work with each other more efficiently. These tools include a database of projects, a database of who's who in the future of Boston, and a database of the companies and organizations that are building the city.

We will be using technology to accomplish these missions and to attract people to our site. For example, we plan a series of high-resolution digital cameras to take time-lapse sequences as the city develops. The first of these cameras is operating now, and can be seen on our web page.

We hope you enjoy and use what we are doing, and we invite you to join us. If you have ideas or comments, please send them to Bill Warner, Founder, FutureBoston, Inc. via email at bill@futureboston.org.