{"items": [{"author": "Anne", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100109880710012?comment_id=10100109882361702", "anchor": "fb-10100109882361702", "service": "fb", "text": "As I understand, it is also true in NYC that much of our city was built between 1890 and 1920. I want to understand that better. There must be a lesson there. I think much of it was driven by immigration.", "timestamp": "1567695229"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100109880710012?comment_id=10100109882361702&reply_comment_id=10100109886248912", "anchor": "fb-10100109882361702_10100109886248912", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Anne it also used to be a lot easier to build, before we put in place zoning that mostly says \"things have to stay the way they are now\"", "timestamp": "1567697549"}, {"author": "Danner", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100109880710012?comment_id=10100109895699972", "anchor": "fb-10100109895699972", "service": "fb", "text": "I saw a medford candidate sign with \"Protect our neighborhoods\" and just read it as a dogwhistle for \"avoid developing new housing and avoid dealing with the realities of demand in the city\"", "timestamp": "1567703388"}, {"author": "Michael", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100109880710012?comment_id=10100109895699972&reply_comment_id=10100109900230892", "anchor": "fb-10100109895699972_10100109900230892", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Neighborhoods grow slowly, and housing developments grow quickly. For example, in Newton, in my two-block long community, a third of whom I currently know (thanks to a set of condos that went in a few years ago, bringing in a bunch of new people whom I don't know), a new set of condos is going in which will triple or quadruple the population. It's an enormous development for such a small community, and in going in, it's removing the community theatre that had been a central rallying point for said community.
Absorbing the same number of new units and new people over the course of 10-15 years wouldn't be a problem, it would be normal growth.", "timestamp": "1567706249"}, {"author": "Melissa", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100109880710012?comment_id=10100109971253562", "anchor": "fb-10100109971253562", "service": "fb", "text": "FWIW, the America Fact Finder uses Census data to answer some questions. In 2018, it says that there were 34,056 housing units in Somerville. (It seems that there's a pretty wide margin of error.). Now Mayor Joe is claiming in his campaign literature that he built 2,000 units. It doesn't say what kind, or where, or over how many years. That claim does not jibe with the assessor's info that you put together,I think.", "timestamp": "1567739514"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100109880710012?comment_id=10100109971253562&reply_comment_id=10100110007575772", "anchor": "fb-10100109971253562_10100110007575772", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Thanks for the pointer to the census! I looked into the numbers there, and they're a huge mess: https://www.jefftk.com/p/somerville-housing-units
I'm very curious where the Mayor's 2000 unit claim comes from!", "timestamp": "1567778973"}, {"author": "Melissa", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100109880710012?comment_id=10100109971962142", "anchor": "fb-10100109971962142", "service": "fb", "text": "On the growth issue, yes, it would be possible to squeeze more housing, but at what cost to the current residents? When we moved to Teele Square 30 years ago after a long stint in Central Square (in a rent-controlled apartment!), the street across from us was a dirt road lined with trees. It was charming and the trees were beautiful, housed wildlife, and kept the air clean. Somerville was a sleepy, working-class town, and immigrants kept moving here and enriching it further. It had a pretty special character and people kept wanting to live here. But 20 years ago the trees on that dirt road were all knocked down, the road was lined with houses on both sides, and the street was paved. Those changes diminished the neighborhood. We could line all the streets in Somerville with ten-story buildings but it wouldn't be Somerville any more. Why did you move here? What attracted you? Are those qualities disappearing as the city becomes richer, whiter, and more crowded? They are for me.", "timestamp": "1567740073"}, {"author": "Shawn", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100109880710012?comment_id=10100109971962142&reply_comment_id=10100110050694362", "anchor": "fb-10100109971962142_10100110050694362", "service": "fb", "text": "→ My 2 cents: Restricting the addition of new housing below market demand leads to increased prices. So it seems to me that your proposal of restricting development leads to the area becoming richer (and presumably whiter by correlation) whereas allowing more development would allow prices to go down and allow poorer people to afford housing here.", "timestamp": "1567803370"}]}