By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Recently, I’ve been asked a number of times to discuss Somerville’s status as a sanctuary city and each time I do, I try to emphasize that we will not waiver from our commitment to being a city that welcomes and serves all. When we say all, we mean all – and that means acknowledging and addressing inequity on other fronts too.

We all know the stories of the haves and have-nots in our nation, and Somerville is not immune to disparity. Some children here come from families that fall in the top ten percent nationally for income, while others come to school hungry because there is not enough to eat at home. Just over 29 percent of our adults have a college degree and higher earning potential, but 10.7 percent lack the high school diploma they need to open new employment doors. While most Somervillians fortunately have health coverage, more than 3,500 of us do not, including more than 200 children and teens. Finally, while some households easily cover their mortgages or rent, others are struggling to afford to stay here as gentrification intensifies across the metro region.

These are just a few examples of just how different life can be in our four square miles. As a city though, we have tools to help address these disparities.

For one, we strive to ensure our residents have access to jobs that will pay them a livable, competitive wage. That’s why we’ve invested in programs that develop job skills and job readiness. They range from our newer fabrication laboratory and our advanced manufacturing training program to our long-standing Somerville Center for Adult Learning Experiences, which provides more than 1,200 adults annually with basic reading, writing and math skills as well as high school diploma equivalency classes and English training.

We also have to make sure we’re unlocking opportunities to create new jobs and giving people ways to access those jobs. Through carefully planned development in Assembly Row and Union Square, we’re working to grow jobs—good jobs—in Somerville. Transportation is also key to employment. By investing in transit like the Assembly Row Orange Line stop and the Green Line Extension, we’re making sure all our residents can more easily access jobs throughout Greater Boston—without the cost burden of car ownership.

Job creation, wage suppression and transportation access all come with their fair share of challenges, but like many other urban areas, and much of our region, access to affordable housing continues to remain one of our largest hurdles in addressing inequity. So we’re working on multiple fronts to address affordability.

With our community partner the Somerville Community Corporation, we are buying 100 homes and making them permanently affordable. We’ve increased the inclusionary housing requirement to ensure more affordable units are built, and opened up inclusionary opportunities to middle income residents. We must continue to work with new construction developers to ensure that some units are designated as permanently affordable, including opening some up for the chronically homeless. If we want Somerville to remain accessible for all – and we certainly do – we must continue to find creative ways to generate more affordable housing opportunities.

The key element in creating affordable housing and new job opportunities at the local level  is the passage of a new zoning ordinance. Many cities and towns in Massachusetts talk a good game when it comes to progressive values and making sure we do right by those who are struggling economically. Yet the reality is most of us have archaic and regressive zoning regulations that have helped create disparity inside our communities. In Somerville we have put together a progressive zoning ordinance that reflects our community values. It is the product of years of community meetings and thousands of people who have told us we need to remain a city with economic and ethnic diversity.

The City is also committed to giving every child the best possible start in life. This means investing in our schools and supporting the health and enrichment of Somerville kids. In recent years, we’ve made historic investments in our academic and afterschool programs as well as teacher training. As a result, our MCAS scores continue to improve and more than 80% of our high school graduates go on to pursue higher education. Our school breakfast, school lunch and summer lunch programs are just as important to learning. We strive to ensure access to healthy foods for all our students via these critical programs as well as targeted Shape Up Somerville initiatives such as our Mobile Farmers Market.

Inequity is a deep, multi-faceted issue that can’t be fully covered in the space of an op-ed. It poses much more complex challenges here in Somerville – just like it does in every other city across the country. While we have made significant progress in this fight over the past several years, progress isn’t enough. We must continue the fight. There is no magic answer and there is no silver bullet. But as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “Fighting inequality is the mission of our times.” And in Somerville, it is at the core of both our values and our goals.