Hey, there! Log in / Register
The Somerville urban village
By adamg on Thu, 03/03/2005 - 7:22pm
Rose is not impressed with the proposal to turn the old Assembly Square Mall into a "new urban village:"
... This new "urban village" is going to be at least as problematic as IKEA in terms of traffic and overloading public transportation. Will MBTA improve the bus service along that route? Will this place be pedestrian friendly? Will everyone living there have to own a car? Will there be coffeeshops, convenience stores, etc. in this forced village? How high will the residential rent be? Will anyone be able to afford it? Or will the city just be catering to the wealthy? ...
Topics:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Here's one of the original designs
The urban design firm Goody Clancy had some of the original design for Assembly Square redevelopment. A number of the questions you ask should be answered in the design book.
Seems like an interesting design.
I also agree that any residential housing that goes up there should NOT just cater to the very wealthy.
Your concerns are very much understood and appreciated, Rose.
I also agree that the Assembly Square area here in Somerville needs to be redeveloped into some kind of mixed-use area. The design(s) for that seem like there's some potential, but we have to wait and see. I also believe that public transportation is definitely in short supply here in Somerville and needs to be extended, so, I'm all in favor of having the MBTA extend their operations in the area, as well as the mixed-use. We'll see what happens.