Thread by @adnamaleah

Apparently @Bline4Everyone has stirred up enough #GoodTrouble, we've got a local political group organizing against us. If I were to pick a name of an anti-housing group locally, I couldn't do better than "By Design." A thread🧵👇 1/n

It was #ByDesign our land use is so racially segregated. Racially restrictive covenants and redlining made sure "undesired" minorities were excluded from communities. See @SegByDesign and segregatedbydesign.com 2/n

It is #ByDesign that certain areas of #Brookline and other Boston metro communities continue to exclude poorer people. Minimum lot sizes, apartment bans, parking minimums, all of these serve to drive up the expense for would be neighbors. 3/n

It is #ByDesign that protecting "neighborhood character" is prioritized over meeting our housing needs. #Brookline Town Meeting has gone through multiple rounds of downzoning, or making it harder for new neighbors to join. Even 100% affordable projects face obstacles 4/n

It is literally #ByDesign that design review and extensive hearings for 4+ unit homes drive up the cost. When predominantly white #NeighborhoodDefenders delay/obstruct, small developers are excluded and the expense is passed on to future tenants theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/… 5/n

It is #ByDesign that every large housing building is negotiated smaller in scale, prioritizing form over all other community benefit. This is often exchanged for things like decreasing onsite affordable units (e.g. Waldo-Durgin) 6/n

I'm not mad that those who want to maintain the status quo are organizing, this is politics after all. But it will be #ByDesign that if elected their preferences about the built environment of Brookline will be prioritized over all else. 7/n

That's why I'm on #TeamB4E2022. Affordable housing, housing affordability & supply, commercial development, bike & pedestrian safety, inclusivity, racial justice, & vibrancy of the Town is the focus when we don't prioritize design over everything else. brooklineforeveryone.com 8/8