The City of Somerville engaged DUSP to develop a neighborhood plan for the Ball Square and Magoun Square neighborhoods in Somerville, Massachusetts. This plan was prepared as part of MIT’s course 11.360 - Community Growth and Land Use Planning Practicum, Fall 2017.

The purpose of this plan is to leverage opportunities of, and mitigate potential negative impacts from, the Green Line Extension project on this neighborhood and its residents. Vision & Goals This plan presents a vision to foster cohesion among the communities that live, work, play, and raise a family in Ball and Magoun Squares. This vision can be realized by achieving four primary goals:

• Securing stable housing: Ensure that rising prices do not displace existing residents and remain affordable to ensure a welcoming and diverse community
• Improving mobility: Redesign streets and promote diverse modes of transportation to allow easy and safe access to amenities, workplaces, and residences. 
• Creating a vibrant business district: Enable a diverse range of businesses providing services to the local community to thrive. 
• Making public spaces more inviting and safe: Reshape streetscapes to allow pedestrians to feel safer and linger longer, and introduce new open spaces for public enjoyment.

Faculty Advisors:

• Terry Szold - Adjunct Professor, Land Use Planning
• Viktorija Abolina - Lecturer, Urban Design and Planning
• Zoe Taft Mueller - Teaching Assistant

Student Team:

• Marcela Angel 
• Liana Banuelos 
• Nol Binakaj
• Max M. Budovitch
• Juan C. Constain 
• K. Erina Keefe 
• Bernardo Pérez 
• Haleemah Qureshi 
• Valdet Tairi 
• Mayu Takeda 
• David Tisel 
• Hannah Weiss