The City of Somerville, MA is a mixed-income community located just outside Boston that’s well-positioned to capitalize on the booming demand for walkable urban development in that region. After reading our March 2015 report the WalkUP Wake-Up Call: Boston, leaders from Somerville approached LOCUS to for help capitalizing on the demand for walkable neighborhoods while maintaining the city’s mixed-income character—particularly in its Union Square neighborhood.

The Union Square Public Benefits Process, LOCUS’ first project in our Attainable Housing and Social Equity Initiative, will serve as a model for developing sustainable place-based strategies that balance the market demand for great walkable urban places with the need for jobs, housing, open space and transportation that are attainable and accessible to all Somervillians.

LOCUS worked closely with local community groups, businesses, and stakeholders in Union Square including the Union Square Civic Advisory Committee (CAC), Union Square Neighbors, Union United, Union Square Main Streets, Union Square Station Associates, and others to begin the development of an implementation plan for achieving Union Square’s future economic development and social equity goals. Two key outputs of the implementation plan work are the public benefits agreement and the identification of a place management organization, either existing or to be created.

Our briefing book for the project summarizes the extensive research, planning, and visioning work that has taken place over several years during the process of planning for Union Square’s redevelopment. This book is intended to build upon and not duplicate work that has been done to date, and to help all participants in the process begin with a common understanding of the issues that will be considered during the strategy process. Please note that this briefing book is not designed to be an original document. It reflects the work of many other groups and individuals and in many cases is an abbreviated version of the full text in the original documents or websites.

The Somerville initiative concluded in early 2016. The project was conducted in partnership with the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at the George Washington University and funded by the Barr Foundation.