ABN Town Meetings - Spring 2002

Meeting 1
04/03/02		 "Manhattan vs. Pleasantville: Traffic, Density, and 'Quality of Life'—What Kind of City are we Building?" Summary of Comments - ABN Fact Sheet: Traffic
Meeting 2
05/15/02		 "There Goes the Neighborhood! Gentrification, Affordable Housing, Middle-Class Housing, or None at all?" Summary of Comments - ABN Fact Sheet: Housing
Meeting 3
06/06/02		 "Boom for Whom? Is Urban Revitalization Revitalizing All of Us?" Summary of Comments - ABN Fact Sheet: Economic Development
Resource Guide
Photos

Summary

Toward our mission of promoting informed citizen engagement in civic affairs, the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods, in the Spring of 2002, held a series of three Town Meetings on planning and development issues facing the city:
  • transportation and density
  • housing
  • economic development
The purpose was to bring together people from various neighborhoods with diverse points of view on these issues, and to encourage a candid exchange of ideas about the nature of the problems and the consequences of alternative solutions. The meetings were not about specific projects or planning proposals, but about the general principles and issues involved in each topic; by discussing them in this proactive way, it is hoped that participants will be better prepared to respond to development projects and plans proposed in the future.

The idea was to explore the complexity of these issues, and to bring out the differing values among people in the community, rather than to present a "correct" solution, encourage agreement and mobilize advocacy action. Community people, as well as public officials, advocacy group leaders and service organization representatives were invited, and given an opportunity to speak their minds openly. They were also encouraged to evaluate their suggestions, and those of others, by thinking through the long-term consequences, not just for themselves but for the city. Obviously, there is much disagreement on the correct solution -– even on the nature of the problem – and it is clear that progress won’t be made until we understand these differences

It became clear that there are very different points of view on what were actually the problems, and what solutions would be desirable. The variety of ideas and perspectives proved very interesting, according to participants' evaluation forms on the sessions; public comments are part of the final report. For people who want to learn more, or join groups that are taking action, a Resource Guide has been put together, listing documents, web-sites, and organizations for each topic.

The ABN Town Meetings were sponsored by the EPA Urban Environmental Initiative.