In the face of the climate crisis, distributed clean energy technologies–such as solar, geothermal, waste-heat recovery, and battery storage–will play a critical role in powering our cities. Yet their integration raises urgent questions: Who will own them? Who will profit from them? Who will benefit?

Infrastructure is shaped by both its technical characteristics and the political economy that envelopes it. With that in mind, this studio invites students across planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture to explore the physical, social, political, and institutional architectures of clean energy futures.

The future grid could be a public project, co-owned by the people it serves. But planning this distributed (and democratized) grid will require efforts from across the allied design disciplines. This is why we’ve opened the studio to a broad range of GSD programs. Together, we will ask questions like: Can a community land trust also be an energy supplier? What mix of uses support a circular energy economy in a new neighborhood? How should we design buildings and landscapes for co-use while managing safety?

This studio will focus on Newmarket Square–Boston’s industrial core–where freight meets food systems, high-tech manufacturing borders housing insecurity, and addiction intersects with homelessness. It’s a place where heat risk and flooding converge, and where an aging electric grid struggles to meet current and future demands–a challenge echoed citywide.

Boston’s grid is at a critical tipping point. The system, which currently peaks at 6.1 GW, is projected to reach 7.5 GW by the mid-2030s and double to 15 GW by 2050. Without urgent action, the already strained grid will soon exceed capacity in many neighborhoods, risking blackouts, rising costs, and stalling progress on decarbonization goals.

Structured in three phases, the course will equip you to engage with the technical, spatial, and political dimensions of energy infrastructure. In Phase 1, you will work in groups to explore clean energy technologies, the grid, and conduct site research in Newmarket. We will learn directly from technical experts, historians, and energy activists. In Phases 2 and 3, you will define your design scope, select a scale of intervention, and complete your final design project. For these final two stages, you may work individually or in groups. Every project must include systems for the production, storage, and distribution of energy, as well as a plan for co-use and co-ownership.

You will choose one of three scales of intervention. (1) Parcel Scale: this could be a building or landscape that integrates a utility-scale battery storage system, substation, or heat recovery center with community-serving uses. (2) Neighborhood Scale: here we ask you to imagine an urban neighborhood powered by a circular energy economy, strategically linking programs that produce and use energy. (3) System Scale: here you’ll work at the level of planning, regulation, and governance. Your product might look like a policy platform, an implementation toolkit, or a set of illustrated standards.

By the end of the course, you will be able to understand the foundations of clean energy planning and design; apply this knowledge within regulatory and economic systems; evaluate and interpret complex site conditions; and navigate the intersections of spatial, social, and policy-based decision-making to imagine a more just, resilient energy future.

Note regarding the Fall 2025 GSD academic calendar: The first day of classes, Tuesday, September 2nd, is held as a MONDAY schedule at the GSD. This studio will meet for the first time on Thursday, September 4th.