Open meeting Wednesday: endorsements and map changes

Open meeting Wednesday: endorsements and map changes

September 12, 2023

Somerville YIMBY

We look forward to seeing you this

. We'll be talking about the 2023 city elections, the MBTA communities law, and some proposals for transit-oriented zoning map changes that are in the works.

Other Upcoming Events

Also on Wednesday, there are twin meetings at 6:00 and 6:30 about a proposed development at

and

.

Somerville YIMBY will have a table at the 2023 Somerville Fluff Festival. If you'd like to help us hand out flyers and talk about housing,

!

What We've Been Doing

At the end of August, several members co-signed an op-ed in Cambridge Day urging Somerville officials to focus on residential development

.

This past weekend, members from Somerville YIMBY and A Better Cambridge met up to talk about the book

.

It outlines many of the common explanations of homelessness, like drug abuse, poverty, the availability of services, and weather, and finds that none of them explain why some cities have far more homeless people per capita than others. The only explanation, the authors show, is low vacancy rates and high prices. This is especially relevant as Somerville and the Boston area grapple with an increasing number of residents without homes, and we ask ourselves what we're going to do about it.

We'll plan on another book club in early spring — reply to this email with recommendations if you'd like to help suggest the next one!