(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)
By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone
As the City prepares to launch SomerVision 2040 and update the goals set in SomerVision 2030, a community-written 20-year comprehensive plan, we also wanted to share the latest update on the progress made on the original SomerVision goals. All numbers are current as of December 1, 2018.
6,848 new jobs created: That’s just shy of 23% of the SomerVision goal of adding 30,000 new jobs to the local economy. Another 735 jobs are expected to be added in 2019, which would bring us to 25% of the goal.
The goal of 30,000 was chosen to provide access to jobs at a 1:1 ratio for Somerville’s workforce population. Creating more opportunities for people to work close to home results in shorter commutes and less traffic, which in turn are good for workers’ quality of life and the environment. We also know that having a more robust daytime population in the city helps create a customer base for many of our restaurants and retailers. Finally, all those employers pay commercial taxes that help fund community needs like our schools, parks, and public safety.
15 acres of new open space created: Those 15 acres represent 12% of the SomerVision goal of 125 acres of new open space. Another 2.27 acres of land has been acquired for open space projects, but has not yet been designed or built.
In a small, densely populated city, it’s difficult to find new places to build parks, playgrounds, and other open space. Given this challenge, we want to be creative and take every opportunity to chip away at the 125 acre goal. One way we can do that is by partnering with the private sector – 38% of our new open space is privately owned and managed, but open to the public.
1,917 new housing units created with 387 of them being affordable housing units: Given the regional housing crisis, SomerVision’s housing goals are critically important. Since the SomerVision goals of 6,000 new housing units with 1,200 of them being affordable were set, Boston-area housing prices have continued to rise making it difficult for many to find housing within their budget. Over the past few years, I’ve talked about increasing our housing goals and this is certainly something we’ll explore during the SomerVision 2040 process.The good news is we’ve seen a steady increase in housing production in Somerville and that trend appears to be continuing into 2019. Next year we’re projecting an additional 354 units will be added to Somerville’s housing stock, 51 of which will be affordable.
5% decrease in residents driving to work alone from 2010 to 2017: When the SomerVision goal of shifting 50% of new trips to public transportation, biking, or walking was set, we knew it would be difficult to measure. But we do have indicators that show more people are relying on cars less. Along with the drop in people driving to work alone noted in the U.S. Census American Fact Finder, we’ve also seen the percentage of people who report they bike to work nearly double from 4.6% to 9%. The information gathered during our annual bike and pedestrian counts back this up – more and more people are getting around without a car. Making it easier for people to walk, bike, or take public transportation helps reduce our carbon emissions, reduces the traffic on our streets, and can make it easier for residents to become car-free and save money. That’s why we fought for the Green Line Extension and continue to invest in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. For example, Somerville went from having just shy of 4 miles of bike lanes in 2009 to just over 17 miles in 2018.
90% of job development and 59% of housing development since 2011 has been in “transformative” areas: Achieving our SomerVision goals means building more housing and commercial space to support new jobs, but SomerVision also made clear that we don’t want that growth to completely change our neighborhoods. To strike this balance, SomerVision set the goal of 85% of new development being in transformative areas – parts of the city like Assembly Square and Boynton Yards that are not as built out. While much of Somerville’s job growth has been in these areas, housing development is shifting more slowly. As a result 65% of Somerville’s total new development has taken place in transformative areas.Future neighborhood plans as well as proposed new zoning will help with our efforts to bring more development to the areas of Somerville that can best absorb it.
January 15: Save that date for the official SomerVision 2040 Kickoff, which will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave. SomerVision calls for a community update to the plan every five years and we want your input. You can visit somervision2040.com to learn more about the original SomerVision plan and the SomerVision 2040 process.
Data-based decision making is at the core of how the City of Somerville develops policy and sets priorities. Every day we check the latest 311 stats, and throughout the week we meet for in-depth review of departmental data and city trends. The Data Download column shares some of the data we’ve been reviewing recently, as well as interesting updates. To see more Somerville Data, visit the online Somerville Data Farm at www.somervillema.gov/datafarm.
Data Download with Mayor 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)
By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone
As the City prepares to launch SomerVision 2040 and update the goals set in SomerVision 2030, a community-written 20-year comprehensive plan, we also wanted to share the latest update on the progress made on the original SomerVision goals. All numbers are current as of December 1, 2018.
6,848 new jobs created: That’s just shy of 23% of the SomerVision goal of adding 30,000 new jobs to the local economy. Another 735 jobs are expected to be added in 2019, which would bring us to 25% of the goal.
The goal of 30,000 was chosen to provide access to jobs at a 1:1 ratio for Somerville’s workforce population. Creating more opportunities for people to work close to home results in shorter commutes and less traffic, which in turn are good for workers’ quality of life and the environment. We also know that having a more robust daytime population in the city helps create a customer base for many of our restaurants and retailers. Finally, all those employers pay commercial taxes that help fund community needs like our schools, parks, and public safety.
15 acres of new open space created: Those 15 acres represent 12% of the SomerVision goal of 125 acres of new open space. Another 2.27 acres of land has been acquired for open space projects, but has not yet been designed or built.
In a small, densely populated city, it’s difficult to find new places to build parks, playgrounds, and other open space. Given this challenge, we want to be creative and take every opportunity to chip away at the 125 acre goal. One way we can do that is by partnering with the private sector – 38% of our new open space is privately owned and managed, but open to the public.
1,917 new housing units created with 387 of them being affordable housing units: Given the regional housing crisis, SomerVision’s housing goals are critically important. Since the SomerVision goals of 6,000 new housing units with 1,200 of them being affordable were set, Boston-area housing prices have continued to rise making it difficult for many to find housing within their budget. Over the past few years, I’ve talked about increasing our housing goals and this is certainly something we’ll explore during the SomerVision 2040 process.The good news is we’ve seen a steady increase in housing production in Somerville and that trend appears to be continuing into 2019. Next year we’re projecting an additional 354 units will be added to Somerville’s housing stock, 51 of which will be affordable.
5% decrease in residents driving to work alone from 2010 to 2017: When the SomerVision goal of shifting 50% of new trips to public transportation, biking, or walking was set, we knew it would be difficult to measure. But we do have indicators that show more people are relying on cars less. Along with the drop in people driving to work alone noted in the U.S. Census American Fact Finder, we’ve also seen the percentage of people who report they bike to work nearly double from 4.6% to 9%. The information gathered during our annual bike and pedestrian counts back this up – more and more people are getting around without a car. Making it easier for people to walk, bike, or take public transportation helps reduce our carbon emissions, reduces the traffic on our streets, and can make it easier for residents to become car-free and save money. That’s why we fought for the Green Line Extension and continue to invest in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. For example, Somerville went from having just shy of 4 miles of bike lanes in 2009 to just over 17 miles in 2018.
90% of job development and 59% of housing development since 2011 has been in “transformative” areas: Achieving our SomerVision goals means building more housing and commercial space to support new jobs, but SomerVision also made clear that we don’t want that growth to completely change our neighborhoods. To strike this balance, SomerVision set the goal of 85% of new development being in transformative areas – parts of the city like Assembly Square and Boynton Yards that are not as built out. While much of Somerville’s job growth has been in these areas, housing development is shifting more slowly. As a result 65% of Somerville’s total new development has taken place in transformative areas.Future neighborhood plans as well as proposed new zoning will help with our efforts to bring more development to the areas of Somerville that can best absorb it.
January 15: Save that date for the official SomerVision 2040 Kickoff, which will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave. SomerVision calls for a community update to the plan every five years and we want your input. You can visit somervision2040.com to learn more about the original SomerVision plan and the SomerVision 2040 process.
Data-based decision making is at the core of how the City of Somerville develops policy and sets priorities. Every day we check the latest 311 stats, and throughout the week we meet for in-depth review of departmental data and city trends. The Data Download column shares some of the data we’ve been reviewing recently, as well as interesting updates. To see more Somerville Data, visit the online Somerville Data Farm at www.somervillema.gov/datafarm.