Somerville has its origins as a working class and immigrant community were all could afford to live. We need to preserve our city’s roots, by making this a community welcoming for all by prioritizing affordable housing development. But there are no quick fixes; we need to tackle this systematically:

Identify and assess housing needs

The City needs to determine what types of affordable housing need to be built; assess the needs of lower-income residents who, because of their immigrant status or lack of access to funding options, are being displaced out of the community; and work on options for middle-income residents who cannot afford to own a home or rent in Somerville. This requires taking inventory of existing housing stock, evaluating the condition of existing properties to strategize repair, identify expiring use properties, and determining best strategies for future development particularly close to public transportation nodes such as the Green Line Extension.

Identify options beyond inclusionary zoning to create additional affordable housing

We need to explore options beyond inclusionary zoning that create additional affordable housing units. The city needs to consider mixed-income development as well as mixed-use development that will help diversify affordable housing while lowering development costs. Development of affordable housing in Transit Development Zones (i.e. near Green Line Extension stops and future Assembly Square Developments) needs to be incentivized and encouraged by allowing higher densities but preserving the local character of the area.

Address the needs of the unhoused

Providing housing for the homeless and the services needed to support their transition to stable housing needs to become a priority. For new housing developments the City should explore partnerships with nonprofits like Respond and the Homeless Coalition who work with the homeless to ensure all residents of Somerville can stay. The City also needs to identify and fund services that facilitate the housing transition for the homeless.

Explore options to stop price-gouging rent increases

Some Somerville residents have been victims of sudden, high rent increases which cause displacement. The City needs to create a task force of non-profit housing agencies, renters and good-faith landlords to discuss the best options to regulate unfair rent increases and avoid displacement. Immigrant families are often particularly likely to be displaced by these practices, so we need to ensure their voices are heard and their needs are met by the solutions we pursue.

Explore ways to lower construction costs

The cost of construction often outpaces wage increases, which in turn exacerbates increased housing costs leading to displacement. We need to explore options to lower construction costs such as through mixed-use housing or prefabricated housing and assess the permitting process that can result in costly delays. The City should create a task force that includes representatives from the construction trades, local contractors and others to explore lower cost construction options and to understand how the permitting process could be resulting in increased housing costs.

Encourage mixed-use development and expand the commercial tax base

Somerville has relatively high property taxes that fall disproportionately on homeowners and their tenants. The city needs a more diversified tax base that will allow it to support its services, school infrastructure and fund more affordable housing development. This means Somerville needs to expand its commercial base, which also creates more jobs in our city and puts a broader range of resources within walking and biking distance of our homes. Mixed-use development, which combines housing with commercial space, is one way to achieve this. We should consider incentives for mixed-use developments, such as allowing higher density when a project includes both much-needed affordable housing, and commercial space.

Want to know more? See my responses to the Somerville YIMBY candidate survey (thank you for your endorsement!).

Prioritize pedestrian and bike safety

I have a vision of streets that meet the needs of all our residents of all ages. People will feel safe whether they bike, walk, drive or scooter. Good design, access to public transportation, and enforcement of road rules will create an enjoyable, efficient transportation network throughout the city. Walking and biking will be everyday choices that will have added benefits to residents’ health and well-being. Carbon emissions will fall, and poor air quality and noise will be memories. To have this vision Somerville needs to:

• Design roads to be self-explanatory and force drivers to lower speeds.

• Eliminate dangerous intersections where pedestrians, cyclists and cars mix in crosswalks and intersections.

• Improve pedestrian infrastructure and ensure compliance with accessibility codes.

• Build bike lanes in high traffic areas. When a physical separation is not viable, vehicle speeds need to be lowered.

• Increase bike parking to further support bike transit.

• Address the environmental, social and health impacts of our larger roadways. McGrath Highway and the “Corridor of Death” were designed to increase convenience for car commuters. Advocate for the redesign and reconstruction that meets current city needs, increases safety and reduces health impacts.

Ensure accessibility for all

Everyone deserves to enjoy our city in full – whether they’re able-bodied and athletic, or older and perhaps a bit slower getting around, visually impaired, using a walker or wheelchair, or pushing a baby stroller. Accessibility merely means that everyone can get around in the city and fully use buildings and public places. It is a civil right, and yet more than three decades after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, too many places in our city remain inaccessible and/or hazardous. That means elders and people with disabilities can’t walk safely in their own neighborhoods, as there are too many trip hazards and obstacles. Parents with babies have to carefully choose their routes and destinations. This is simply not acceptable. We need to make Somerville truly accessible – from our streets and sidewalks, to parks, to public buildings. We need to:

• Invest in the enforcement of existing accessibility regulations by creating a staff position to support compliance. A local successful model is Boston’s Architectural Access Board.

• Identify and assess public spaces and public buildings that do not comply with current accessibility codes. Fund efforts to bring those buildings into compliance.

• Prioritize the places that people use to travel to work, school or recreation. Fund upgrades of non-compliant commercial centers and major paths of travel to key destinations.

• Ensure that contractors and others understand the codes related to accessibility and know when they need to comply. If new construction or renovations trigger these codes, work with builders for compliance.

Enforce traffic laws

Although speed limits have been lowered across the city in recent years, cars’ ability to go fast has not changed. The Model Ford T had a top speed of 35 mph! Today’s cars can reach high speeds very quickly making speeding commonplace and which increases risks associated with driving. We need to explore options for traffic enforcement and implement those options[ .

Expand access to public transit

Somerville will soon have access to three different MBTA Lines: Green, Red and Orange. These train stops will create greater transportation access across the city - a success story to celebrate. yet Somerville should advocate for new bus routes and more frequent service so that the public transportation system is robust, efficient and effective. These needs are particularly felt in neighborhoods not serviced by public trains, and which tend to have minority populations. To improve transportation, access the City should work with the MBTA to:

• Study the origin and destination of its workforce and frequent users at all levels to determine if bus services need to be expanded or frequency increased.

• Ensure connections between local towns are created where the need exists.

• Study the viability of creating bus access in the north/south corridors which currently appear to be underserved .

• Implement a pilot program for free bus transportation to increase public transit use in our community, decrease vehicular traffic, and increase vehicular safety.

Want to know more? See my response to the Somerville Bicycle Safety candidate survey.

Prioritize cultural understanding

With a large immigrant multi-lingual community, Somerville needs to recognize that the cultural norms and ways of communicating and interacting vary from culture to culture. We also need to recognize the challenges that come when communities are new to the country and have limited access to technology. It is important to understand how cultural differences and generational wealth gaps, among other challenges, can be barriers to the very programs that would benefit these communities. The City needs to increase trust with its immigrant communities by working with community leaders, hiring staff from similar cultural backgrounds, and addressing technology barriers. With improved methods of communication and outreach efforts, we can bridge these gaps and address the needs of our immigrant/multi-lingual communities.

Recognize the language needs of our multilingual communities

Everyone in our community deserves to have meaningful access to the information and services they need. Currently there are support systems for translation, but they are sometimes inconsistent and are mostly focused on our schools. Somerville needs to create a Language and Communications Access Program that supports all departments and services across the City. The city should establish a goal to provide a comprehensive and universal language access to all government agencies including schools by 2021.