Flock2015-Boston-proposal

Staff

• Maírín Duffy
• Emily Dirsh

Boston, MA is a major metropolitan area in the Northeast United States. One of the oldest cities in the country, it is rich in history, houses some of the best universities in the world, and has a diverse local culture, with lots of activities and cuisines to choose from.

Major local airport(s) and rail stations

• Logan International Airport (BOS)
• Manchester Airport (MHT)
• TF Greene Airport (PVD) - connects to South Station via MBTA Commuter Rail, ~1 hour trip
• Hyannis Airport (?)
• Boston South Station (down to New York, DC, and beyond along eastern coast)
• Boston North Station (up to Maine)

* Distance from airport(s) to proposed lodging
* Transportation options and costs for getting attendees from the airport to the the lodging (e.g., shuttle, public transportation, taxi) 
* Estimated costs of flights from BOS, RDU, BOM, CDG, and PRG

Getting around Boston

Boston has a wide variety of transportation options. The cheapest option is public transportation in the form of buses and subways provided by the MBTA [1]. The MBTA also runs commuter rail and boat options, but these are less useful in the immediate Boston vicinity.

If public transportation isn't available for a destination, taxis are easily hailed off the street, or reserved through one of the local taxi companies, or using a smartphone app such as Hailo.

Car sharing-style services Uber and Lyft are also widely available in the Boston area, and tend to be cheaper than a taxi. They do, however, require the use of a smartphone app and pre-registration with the service.

For those with Zipcar memberships, you can use your membership to reserve cars in Boston. Zipcars are available at hundreds of locations in the Boston area.

Venue Possibilities

• MIT (will talk to LibbyR tomm about this)
• District Hall (200+ ppl in hall, not sure if big enough, contact info is http://districthallboston.org/faq/ )
• Workbar (up to 200 ppl, too small?) http://workbar.com/events/host-an-event/
• Space with a Soul (up to 250 ppl) http://www.spacewithasoul.org/our-space/event-space/
• Artists for Humanity (??) http://www.afhboston.org/epicenter.php
• Bunker Hill Community College (LibrePlanet has been here before)
• Tufts
  • Granoff Center http://as.tufts.edu/music/musiccenter/about/rental.htm
  • Campus Center http://ocl.tufts.edu/mayer-campus-center/meeting-rooms/
• UMass Boston http://www.umb.edu/campus_center/events_conferences/meeting_spaces
• RH Office (free, large space with free snacks/drinks, transportation issues)

* Proposed venue, including: 
** Cost of venue 
** Room availability for keynotes and capacity (assume 250 attendees)
** Room availability for sessions--number of rooms available, capacity of each, and configuration (classroom style, conference style, etc.) -- we need 6-8 of these, each with a capacity of at least 40
** Internet availability
* Proposed lodging
** Cost of loding--please provide written agreement from lodging specifying rates 
** Number of single and double rooms available
** Note Internet availability and cost in lodging
** Distance from venue and transportation required between them
* Proposed evening event locations (at least 2, preferably 3)
* Pros and cons of the proposed location.