Thanks to everyone who came out on Monday for the Brookline for Everyone Holiday Party! We had a great group of folks come out to the United Parish Church to recognize our amazing volunteers who spread the word on pro-housing initiatives, talk to voters, and help elect new Town Meeting Members willing to fight the battles to legalize more homes in Brookline. And thanks to everyone on this list for your interest, your many contributions, your attention, and your votes as we try to build a more vibrant and sustainable Brookline.
Want to Make an Impact in Brookline?
One of the most important steps we can take to implement pro-housing reforms to help move Brookline toward the environmentally sustainable, economically thriving, and racially inclusive community we all want to call home is to elect pro-housing candidates to Town Meeting every May. In order to make this happen, we need great candidates who understand that Brookline needs more housing – affordable housing, subsidized housing, income restricted housing, and market rate housing – and the town’s zoning policy needs to allow this housing growth by right.
And we think YOU should be that candidate!
We’re working hard on building out our 2025 May election campaign, and are planning info sessions on running for Town Meeting – the logistics of getting your name on the ballot, how to campaign in your neighborhoods, how Brookline for Everyone can help, and what being on Town Meeting entails. If you’ve ever thought about running for local office, or are trying to figure out how you can make an impact in your community, sign up here!
Some Holiday Reading
On the importance of creating “climate-aligned urbanism”
Climate action on a massive scale is arguably the most pressing challenge facing our world today. At the same time, the world is urbanizing at a breakneck pace, but many of these places are growing through sprawl, rather than more compact, climate-friendly cities, resulting in much higher per-capita carbon emissions. A new piece from RMI, “It’s Time to Put Urban Form on the Climate Agenda” outlines the many problems with new urban sprawl, and proposes solutions that should sound familiar to many in Brookline – “infill development, removing restrictions on multifamily housing and lifting parking requirements, developing cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, and building more homes and commercial clusters close to high-quality transit.” While we have much to be proud of here, there’s a lot that can be done to re-legalize multifamily housing, build infill housing in our lower density neighborhoods, discourage car use, make alternate transportation options safer and easier to use, and create commercial growth / job opportunities in key locations.
New study shows significant health benefits to bike commuting
An 18-year study of more than 80,000 adults in Scotland shows huge health benefits to bike commuting, and significant but lesser benefits to pedestrian commuting. We already know that when communities like Brookline and Boston invest in safe bike infrastructure, people of all ages and abilities will turn to biking for their daily activities. When combined with this research, we learn that this investment also has significant public health benefits, and associated decreases in health care costs. From the study: “Compared with non-active commuters, cyclists had 47% lower risk of death from any cause, 10% lower risk of any hospitalisation, 24% lower risk of CVD hospitalisation and 30% lower risk of receiving a CVD related prescription, 24% lower risk of cancer hospitalisation and 51% lower risk of cancer death, and a 20% lower risk of receiving a mental health related prescription.” Read the full study here.
Brookline.News Wants Your Housing Story
There’s still time to submit your housing story to Brookline.News. They’re looking for stories responding to the following prompt: “Are you renting, or do you own? How did you find the place where you live? Can you afford it, or does it stretch your means? Is it a haven or a source of stress and insecurity? Do you think you’ll stay?” Share your housing story here. We hope you’ll share your story – especially if you are newer to Brookline, struggling to stay in Brookline, or have had your network impacted by housing.
We hope you all enjoy the upcoming holidays and are able to spend some time relaxing and recharging in whatever way works best!
Thanks,
Jeff Wachter, on behalf of Brookline for Everyone