News from Somerville YIMBY

A warm welcome to all our new members and subscribers from the Fluff Festival. We were glad to have the opportunity to speak with you about our draft map and upcoming zoning proposal. Join the discussion, including updates on how we’re gathering feedback from city councilors and other civic advocates, on our messageboard. Reply to this message if you don’t have a login and want one.

Upcoming Events

• TransitMatters Bike Ride to Lynn Interim Station, September 28, 10 am. Meet in Union Square for a ride up the Northern Strand bikeway to Lynn Interim Station.

• Somerville YIMBY Monthly Social, October 4, 6 pm: Join us for drinks, snacks, and conversation at Remnant Brewing, Bow Market.

• Western Pearl Reconstruction Community Meeting, October 9, 6 pm: The city’s safer streets ordinance encounters its first serious set of tradeoffs this month as planning begins for reconstruction of the western side of Pearl Street. Please plan to attend this meeting if you live near Gilman Square or travel along Pearl Street.

• Somerville YIMBY Monthly Meeting, October 9, 6 pm: Discuss our upcoming zoning memo and other projects.

• Book Club: We’ll be reading Sacred Civics: Building 7-Generation Cities this quarter. Exact date and location TBA. If buying a copy of this book presents a financial hardship for you, reply to this message and we’ll hook you up.

Check out our full calendar for more events, and as always, if you think we’ve missed one, please let us know!

Recommended Reading

• StreetsBlog Mass: SUV Driver Kills Bicyclist On Memorial Drive Bike Path in Cambridge. The Department of Conservation of Recreation (DCR) has known for years about the dangers of this section of Memorial Drive. We are, frankly, furious.

• Fast Company: Why car companies might finally have to care about pedestrian safety. After decades of rising fatalities, the feds finally begin to consider acting on dangerous automotive bloat.

• NBC News: What's Minneapolis' secret to fixing housing? Build more. NBC covers the basics of the pro-housing movement and its success in Minneapolis.

• CommonWealth Beacon: 20 groups weigh in on MBTA Communities Act case. Somerville YIMBY is proud to be one of the co-signers of the amicus brief from Abundant Housing Massachusetts (AHMA) in this case.

• Darrell Owens: Liberal NIMBYs are Helping Red States. We already know that high housing prices are driving people away from places like California, New York, and Massachusetts. That population shift might even help determine outcomes in the Electoral College and House of Representatives?