August Virtual Session: Housing & Transportation
Date: June 10, 2020
Time: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Location: Zoom (see reminder email or YW Boston Connect event page for meeting details)
Objectives
Our objectives are to
- Discuss impact of housing and transportation on socioeconomic well-being of region
- Identify historical and current factors which have led to metro Boston’s current housing and transportation challenges
- Examine how existing disparities in housing and transportation have been exacerbated in the COVID-19 pandemic
Agenda
- 9:00 Opening
- 9:45 Transportation discussion with expert speaker Jarred Johnson, Director of Transit Matters
- 11:00 Housing Discussion with expert speaker Jessica Boatright, City of Boston’s Deputy Director of Neighborhood Housing Development
- 12:15 Class discussion & closing
Pre-work
Complete the following readings before our program day.
After completing the readings, brainstorm questions related to housing & transportation for our expert speakers, and share them on Rachael’s YW Boston Connect post.
Note: Given the short turnaround, please prioritize those labeled “priority” if you have limited time
- Priority Reading: The Boston Foundation Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2020 Series #1 Housing Stability COVID-19 & Beyond (PDF)
- Priority Reading: The Boston Foundation Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2020 Series #2 Racial Equity in Housing in the Time of COVID-19 (PDF)
- Priority Watch & Read (5 min): How A Long-Ago Map Created Racial Boundaries That Still Define Boston
- Listen & Read (5 min): MIT Study: Boston Evictions Happening ‘Orders Of Magnitude’ More In Low-Income Neighborhoods
- Read (5 min): Don’t Dissolve The MBTA’s Control Board. Empower It To Do More (PDF)
- Read (5 min) Don’t just fix the infrastructure, let’s rethink our transit policies (PDF)
- Read/Skim: Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2019 (PDF)
- Read/Skim: City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development and Community Preservation Act – Request For Proposals – Key program components and strategies (p. 3-6, 9-12)
Module 6: Inclusive Meetings
- Watch Module 6, Inclusive Meetings (16 min).
- Once you’ve finished the video, share your response to the Post & Share question as a comment to Rachael’s pinned post in the YW Boston Connect LeadBoston 2020 group.
Expert Speakers
Jarred Johnson, Director, TransitMatters
I come to this position after serving as a project manager for the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation where I managed a variety of complex affordable housing real estate projects and supported organizing efforts for better service on the Fairmount Line. Before that, I helped to start the “Love Your Block” mini-grant project and helped write the City of Boston’s first Volunteer Plan as a part of the Civic Engagement Office. I also have a wealth of grassroots organizing experience working on various presidential, state, and Cherokee tribal races. I joined TransitMatters as a volunteer member in the summer of 2015 and served on the Board since the fall of that year. My area of interest is how transit and housing intersect with advocacy and organizing. [Read More]
Jessica Boatright, Deputy Director, City of Boston Neighborhood Housing Development
Jessica Boatright is the Deputy Director for the Department of Neighborhood Development’s Neighborhood Housing Development Division, where she manages a professional staff of development officers, architects and construction specialists. This team works diligently to ensure that public funding is wisely invested in strong affordable housing developments that will serve their local neighborhoods and the citizens of Boston. Prior to joining DND, Jessica worked at Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, leading efforts to expand and innovate on their mission and to increase the availability of housing affordable for all. [Read More]