MAYOR CURTATONE AND ALDERMAN GEWIRTZ ANNOUNCE DAVIS SQUARE SOMERVILLE BY DESIGN INITIATIVE;

SOMERVILLE – Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz announced today that the City’s popular
Somerville by Design initiative will expand to

. The resident-driven program will bring together community members for an innovative, hands-on process where they will explore and shape their vision for the future of the square. At the kickoff event on Tuesday, May 21st, participants will be introduced to this community-based urban planning and design approach. Residents will then be asked to help shape the entire process from choosing meeting locations and other methods for participation to identifying specific design and development goals for the square – and they will be challenged to create buzz around the program to draw in a large and diverse group of participants.

Somerville by Design is a cutting-edge approach to community planning that crowd-sources solutions to challenging physical planning and urban design issues. It makes planning fun, using highly visual, interactive techniques such as “Open Studio” design sessions, neighborhood meetings, block walking, and online surveys.  Most important, it provides multiple ways for the public to get involved in generating and refining physical design plans for sites and neighborhoods.  

In 2012 and early 2013, the Somerville by Design “Station Area Planning Series” brought hundreds of residents and stakeholders together to plan for the neighborhoods around the future Green Line stations at Gilman Square, Lowell Street /Magoun Square, and Ball Square. More recently, the
Somerville by Design “Complete Street Series” focused on designing safe, friendly streets citywide. Community members are invited to a four-part
Somerville by Design process for

. 

“Nearly thirty years ago, the community gathered to craft a plan for the future of

spurred on by the construction of the Red Line T-stop. The

Action Plan helped create many of the square’s most important civic spaces and economic anchors and that is why this square is thriving today,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “But I’m sure that with the creative and thoughtful input of the residents who enjoy the square today that we can craft a plan for the next thirty years to ensure

continues to be a vibrant community hub in our City. Best practices in urban planning call for updating long-range plans every thirty years, and I am looking forward to another collaborative and fruitful public dialogue about

.”   

The
Somerville by Design process was created to realize SomerVision goals to conserve the character of our existing residential areas while also ensuring context-sensitive growth around transit stations. SomerVision and Somerville by Design are funded in part by a Challenge Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Sustainable Communities Program.

Community members will work directly with local and national experts in urban design, architecture, and engineering in a hands-on format to see their ideas come to life via real-time sketches and professional artist's renderings of neighborhood improvements. Essentially, the project is designed to crowd-source both the process itself and the vision for

.

“Crowdsourcing is an idea that most people associate with online projects where a large group of people are asked to contribute ideas or data, or to carry out the work of a larger project. But with the
Somerville by Design Initiative, we want take crowd-sourcing into the realm of community-based urban planning. By gathering a large group of residents who will share their ideas, opinions, and wants for the square at the heart of their community, we will work together to ensure the square meets our evolving needs,” said Mayor Curtatone.

“In
Somerville, we’re all about people power, and the SomerStat, ResiStat and 311 Constituent Services programs are great examples of our commitment to open government,” said Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz. “It’s been exciting to see how the Somerville by Design program has brought these same principles to neighborhood planning in Ball Square, and I’ve advocated to make sure that Davis Square can benefit from this cutting-edge approach to planning and urban design.”   

To ensure that the community vision and the current plans for using the Day Street/

lot for a hotel can work together, the City has made the following determination.  While the Davis Square Hotel Technical Advisory Committee recently provided recommendations to the Mayor about the selection of a hotel developer, the Mayor will not be submitting a recommended developer to the Board of Alderman until after the
Somerville by Design process is complete. This will allow the City to ensure that the selected development team's proposal is consistent with the vision, goals, and urban design plan developed through this process.

The four-part
Somerville by Design process will include a Kick-Off Crowd-Sourcing Event on May 21st, at a location to be announced. At this meeting, participants will be introduced to the
Somerville by Design approach to community-driven urban planning and design. They will also be asked to identify key community stakeholders and residents to be recruited for the process, which is also open to all. Ideas will also be solicited for outreach methods, participation methods, locations, and dates to be sure the process itself, and not just the outcome, is best tailored to the community’s needs. 

Meeting #2:  Visioning Session
Date in July to be announced
Planning experts will work with residents to identify the community’s core values and goals for the square.

Meeting #3: Open Studio Design Sessions
In an interactive, hands-on process, residents will explore possibilities for the square that meet the community’s values and goals.

Meeting #4: Plan Presentation and Feedback Session
Architectural drawings and renderings based on resident input will be presented for discussion and evaluation. A project schedule and materials will be available soon on the City's website at www.somervillema.gov/bydesign.

For more information on
Somerville by

, please contact OSPCD at 617-625-6600 ext 2500.