The City of Somerville Community Design Team is asking residents to contribute their ideas for the further development of Union Square. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Bella Levavi

Last weekend a Community Design Team (CDT) led a community outreach session at the Union Square Farmers Market to get input from Somerville residents about a possible redesign of Union Square.

This was one of three sessions that will be conducted this summer. After many more outreach projects hosted by the CDT throughout Fall 2021 and Winter 2022. Toole Design Group, Klopfer Martin Design Group, and Kleinfelder Engineering will redesign the square based on the feedback that has been collected.

Somerville is taking careful consideration in integrating the community in the redesign. “The community engagement component of the Union Square Plaza and streetscape project is layered with different approaches to hear from a large array of people who live, work, and visit Union Square,” Cortney Kirk, Senior Public Space Planner at City of Somerville, said.

The CDT is made up of 11 Somerville residents from diverse backgrounds. Combined they speak six languages and range from ages 16 to over 60. This group was recruited by a community engagement firm called Design Studio for Social Intervention. This group is paid for their work and trained by the firm itself.

With this group of people working on the project, the mayor’s office of Somerville is hoping to get unique ideas about what this space needs from the people of Somerville. “We are committed to a robust community process, ” Ben Ewen-Campen, Somerville’s Ward 3 City Councilor, said.

When Kirk was asked what she anticipated, the biggest complaint about the square from residents would be, she responded, “Overall, across the city, we receive a lot of feedback about construction. Somerville is going through an unprecedented construction cycle.”

The redesign of Union Square Plaza is taking place in a much larger context of the Union Square Neighborhood Plan. This guiding document outlines the construction and improvement project for the neighborhood of Union Square for the next 20–30 years.

“There are very few places to hang out that don’t cost money. Restaurants and cafes are not cheap,” Ewen-Campen said. “It is our responsibility to create spaces where people of all ages and backgrounds can hang out.”

“I’m very excited for the future of Somerville’s public spaces,” Kirk said. She explained that in 2019, Public Space and Urban Forestry division (PSUF) was officially created by the city. This six-person team is changing the public spaces of Somerville, including working to create a better space in Union Square.

“In front of Reliable Market there is a little slip triangle,” Ewen-Campen said. “We have dedicated so much of the city to cars, we need to make it a place where people want to spend time instead of waiting for the traffic to stop.”

The businesses of Union Square will also be involved in the redesign project. “Businesses are an essential piece to Union Square’s vitality,” Kirk said. “The CDT is currently running several focus groups with many businesses in Union Square to hear their ideas and imagine new possibilities.”

“Union Square is wonderful,” Ewen-Campen said. “There is a reason that people come to Union Square. It’s because we love it.”

The next CDT meeting will take place on Friday, July 23, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m., at Union Square Plaza (rain date: Friday, July 30, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.).