The real deal with Somerville politics?

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

I read lots comments about pro-mayor this and anti-maor that, and there appear to be a good number of contested races in the city this election cycle. Anyone care to enlighten me (and hopefully others) on what the sweep of citywide politics looks like from where you sit, and maybe a little of the history that went into it? Major points of contention? Anywhere I can read more? Thanks in advance.

Comments

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

I think the poster who described the new (hideous and unnecessary) CVS building in Davis Square as 'big box' is closer to correct than the others who seem unable to admit that a CVS and a sports club in Davis Square is good, so therefore not big box. Maybe I'm wrong, and I certainly haven't followed the Assembly Square issues as closely as some, but I understood that 'mixed use' meant office/retail plus residential. That is supposed to mean that the area will have some type of life at all hours. I don't see how office and retail use equals mixed use.

[ron_newman]

There will be housing, as well as office and retail, in parts of Assembly Square.

Davis Square in general is a mixed-use neighborhood; that doesn't mean every single building has to contain a mix of all those uses.

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

Big Box at Assembly Square You drive there. You park your car in a giant parking lot. If you go to KMart you park near KMart. Then when you are done there and want to go to the Christmas Tree Shop you often get in your car and drive to the other end of the giant parking lot nearer to the Christmas Tree shop. Each store is huge with an outside entrance to the parking lot. Each store is a major US retailer. You get out of your car, you make your purchase, you go back to your car and you drive away. The big box stretch of stores looks exactly like the same stretch of big box stores you can find in numerous cities and towns across America. Am I in Massachusetts or am I in Ohio? I can't tell.

Mixed Use in Davis Square: You take the T there. You ride your bike there on the bike path. You walk there. Sometimes you drive there and park in a small municipal parking lot or on the street. People live there. People eat in a variety of ethnic restaurants. People buy meat at the butcher shop and fruit at the little store across the street. In summer they go to the farmer's market. People listen to music, or go to a bookstore or go bowling. People stop in at the new CVS to pick up some bandaides or they go up to the new gym to work out.

[ron_newman]

And the 'PDS' (really 'Mystic View Task Force') position is more subtle than "anti-Ikea". It's more like "let's develop Assembly Square along the successful model already shown to work in Davis Square."

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

PDS and the Mystic View Task Force are two separate organizations. Although there are people who are members of both groups, both groups also have probably a majority of people in them that are not members of both organizations.