Boston’s Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM) is the City of Boston’s civic research and design team. Formed in 2010, it works with city departments and communities to explore, test and evaluate new approaches to government and civic life.1 Its remit spans city services and public spaces, with projects addressing issues such as housing, mobility, education, civic engagement and public health.513
Rather than delivering a single service, MONUM develops experiments and prototypes, then works to assess whether they can improve how government serves residents.111 Its past work has included the Public Space Invitational, which invites temporary interventions in public places, and Beta Blocks, an effort to make it easier to test civic-minded ideas in city streets.111 Other projects have addressed housing options, safer travel and food access. In Haymarket, for example, the office worked with market vendors, food-recovery groups and city and state partners on tools to improve waste management and route recovered food to a regional food-access hub.512
The office’s current stated priority is permitting transformation: making Boston’s permitting process more predictable, transparent and efficient for housing, small businesses, restaurants and public spaces.1 MONUM’s work is local to Boston, though it collaborates with regional partners on some initiatives.512 Boston’s official materials identify the office as part of city government; a 2025 city document lists Marcy Ostberg as its director.23