As an agency concerned with urban planning, the BPDA does not consider requests for zoning variances from individual property owners.

These are heard by the city's own Zoning Board of Appeals, a seven-person body appointed by the Mayor of Boston.

[3] Many consider the finished project (which includes Boston City Hall) an eyesore, and the surrounding large brick plaza as an uncomfortable place to be.

Another example of the BRA's work involves collaboration with the State Coastal Zone Management Department for waterfront planning and redevelopment of privately owned and MassPort-owned properties.

The BRA has also undertaken improvements on Columbia Road in Dorchester, a narrow stretch of green space that Frederick Law Olmsted once envisioned as The Dorchesterway, the final link in the Emerald Necklace park system.