Strategic Planner George Proakis, AICP kicks off Chamber's new series Turning '21.
ABOUT GEORGE PROAKIS, AICP George is Somerville’s Executive Director of the Office of Strategic Planning & Community Development.
George facilitates the SomerVision city plan, with a focus on such varied topics as zoning, urban design, stormwater recharge, backyard chickens, family housing, dining decks, and dormers. He and his team coordinate the development of the Somerville by Design neighborhood planning process, facilitate economic development and small business programs, manage substantial mobility and public space projects, coordinate an extensive inclusionary housing program, facilitate state and federal grants, manage a client-service based anti-displacement program, and work to implement Somerville’s newly adopted form-based zoning ordinance.
George is a founding board member of the New England Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, a member of the board of directors of the Boston Society of Architects, and a member of the Steering Committee for the Form Based Codes Institute at Smart Growth America. He teaches a course in Economic Development Planning at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.
George holds a Master of City Planning from MIT, a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse, and a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University.
ABOUT TURNING ’21: This new virtual series is to answer questions for the community and the region. The theme is resilience – “the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.” [Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities project.] Each Turning ’21 lunch-time event is co-produced by a rotating Host/Co-Producer and Chamber Staff. Turning ’21 events are scheduled for the “First and Third Tuesday of the Month.” Attendance is free and open to the public but registration is required. Turning ’21 is sponsored by Winter Hill Bank
WHY SOMERVILLE?: Somerville is: the most densely populated city in New England; closer to downtown Boston than most of the City of Boston; and in the Brainpower Triangle of MIT, Harvard and Tufts.
WHY ’21?: In 2021, Somerville’s 4.2 square miles stand to be the leading edge of Greater Boston’s urban resilience. Few, if any, little cities in the world will see the incredible concentration of urban development in just 12 months as here. In early 2021, Somerville will open a $256M high school. During the year, Puma’s North American HQ will open. Urban life sciences and mixed-use developments will break ground, while others will cut ribbons, in Boynton Yards, Union Square, McGrath Highway, Assembly’s Edge and Xmbly. Brickbottom master planning will begin. A new community path to Boston will open. By year’s end, 85%+ of Somerville residents will live within walking distance of a mass transit station on Orange, Green, or Red line. Somerville is best positioned to pioneer the region’s resilience frontier. Let’s start today.
Date and Time
Tuesday Jan 19, 2021
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST
Contact Information
Stephen Mackey
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