According to statistics, Davis Square has four restaurants for every three retail establishments. ~Photo by Bobbie Toner Lauren C. Ostberg Davis Square has been through many changes in the past three decades. The Red Line added a T-stop in 1984; deregulation of rent control in the mid 70's affected the housing marketing; a national alternative press magazine declared it one of the fifteen "hippest places to live" in 1997. The Mayor's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD), accompanied by Ward 6 Aldermen Rebekah Gewirtz, invited the community to discuss their ideas about the region's future at a Davis Square Visioning meeting on March 3, 2010.

This event, the first of three or four meetings focusing on the Davis Square neighborhood, is in conjunction with SomerVision, and is another phase in the development of the first-ever citywide comprehensive plan.

"We want to be sure that the future of Davis Square is what you want it be," explained Gewirtz. She noted that unmonitored growth and development can destroy the fabric of a neighborhood. "It's much easier to protect a place's character if we have a plan where we can say, no, look, this is what they want," she said.

Much of the discussion focused on the overabundance of restaurants and clothing boutiques in the Davis Square area, and the absence of a grocery store or a general merchandise shop. According to statistics presented to the group, Davis Square has four restaurants for every three retail establishments.

Lee Auspitz, a particularly vocal resident and member of the Davis Square Task Force, believes that the report should include information about "new growth," a measure of how the tax base has increased over the years. He believes that owner-occupied units are responsible for much of the area's economic growth.

"That's the real engine of change around here," he said.

They also discussed the lack of population during the work week, and the parking issues that arise when a car-owning population uses public transportation for their daily commute. There were informal and inconclusive conversations about the possibility of a hotel on Herbert Street.

Brad Rawson, an Economic Development Planner at the OSPCD, led the meeting. He presented a series of slides addressing the changes and challenges in the Davis Square area, then encouraged each table to break into small-group discussions, and ultimately complete a chart listing the Square's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges.

Small-group discussion generated comments on the lack of family-sized housing, increased airport noise and increased street crime. They presented the public library and the little-walked Highland Avenue as opportunities for growth, and brought up the issue of more affordable office space to attract local employers.

They also affirmed their investment in the neighborhood. "The Square has good bones," said Cathy Barber, a long-time resident. "It always has."

Kyler Evitt, 19, the youngest of the two dozen Somervillians present at the event, hopes the future of Davis Square will look much like his past. "I grew up here, and I see myself staying here long-term," he said. "There was always somewhere to go, something to do."

He praises the Square's socio-economic, ethnic and age diversity, and would like to see its wide appeal continue.

"We're all looking at the same thing from different angles. It's nice being a part of it," he said.

A second meeting has been tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, April 14.