In Somerville, High Anxiety Over Eminent Domain
“If Somerville has a spiritual center, it’s probably Union Square— a bustling neighborhood where traffic is dense, swanky new businesses share space with gritty throwbacks, and the crowd runs the ethnic and socioeconomic gamut.
But in 10 years, Union Square won’t look the way it does today.
“I hope you see a neighborhood that’s even more thriving and eclectic and edgy than it is now,” Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone says. “But with even more housing, more people living in the center square, that’s certainly a safer place to bike and walk.”
With the long-awaited MBTA Green Line extension coming to Somerville, Curtatone sees an opportunity to push the city’s transformation even further. He wants to rebuild Union Square in a way that smoothes out the neighborhood’s rough edges (limited housing, an abundance of concrete) and creates new strengths (green space, more humane traffic flow).”
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REilly, Adam. WGBH News 12 May 2014.