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By Joseph A. Curtatone

Taking a closer look at notable city data—and interesting numbers. 

It’s moving season in Somerville, and even for that we have data.

3,890 temporary no parking requests: For most, moving trucks and discarded furniture on the curbs are signs of moving season. For us, temporary no parking sign requests are another. From May to July this year, the City issued nearly 4,000 temporary no parking permits. These permits get issued throughout the year for a variety of things, including construction, deliveries, and moving. But from May through September, most of them are issued are for moving vehicles or containers. By this time last year, the Parking Department had issued 3,151 no parking permits and then ultimately handled a total of 6,334 during moving season. If you’re moving this summer and need to reserve parking, visit www.parksomerville.com for information on getting temporary no parking permits and don’t forget that signs have to go up 48 hours in advance and you need to call 311 to let them know the signs are posted. If you park on the street, don’t forget to regularly look for temporary no parking signs on your street so you can plan to move your car, if needed.

2 items per week: Whether you’re moving this summer or doing a late spring cleaning, you might find yourself with things that you want to get rid of. If the items are still usable, friends,  neighbors, or local thrift shops may be interested in taking them off your hands, which helps reduce waste. But if there are things that need to be thrown out, you can find the best way to do that by visiting www.somervillema.gov/wizard. Some items can go in your regular trash and recycling, while others can be recycled at other sites. If you know you’ll have several large items for the trash, plan ahead – you’re allowed to put two large items out each week with your regular trash.

81,562 residents: According to the latest information from the Census Bureau, Somerville has more than 81,000 residents. Compared to data from the last census in 2010, that’s nearly an 8% increase in residents. Over the years, Somerville has seen a lot of variation in how many people live here. The city saw a huge increase in residents from the 1880s to the 1920s when the population grew from under 25,000 to more than 90,000 residents. Somerville then hit its highest population (so far) in the 1930s and 1940s with more than 100,000 people living here.

7% increase: It’s not just Somerville that has grown; the greater Boston region saw about a 7% increase in population from 2010 to 2018. That comes out to about 300,000 new residents. About a third of that increase came from within Middlesex County, which includes Somerville.  The most populous county in the Boston region, Middlesex saw its population grow from 1.5 million residents in 2010 to over 1.6 million in 2018.

354 housing units: It’s no secret that the Boston area is in the midst of a housing crisis. It’s getting harder and harder for people – even those with good paying jobs – to find affordable housing. There’s no one magic answer for fixing the housing crisis, but if Somerville and the region continue to grow without more housing being built, the problem will only become worse. By the end of 2019, we expect to have added 354 new housing units this year to Somerville’s housing stock. The addition of those units brings us to 2,271 new units since 2011 when the SomerVision goal of 6,000 new housing units by 2030 was adopted. Some of that housing will come from large, multi-unit developments, but other units will be the result of smaller projects across the city. If you’re curious about construction in your neighborhood, visit www.somervillema.gov/cornerwise where you can see a map and find more about proposed and ongoing projects.

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.