Beantown is forecast to take the top spot in urban walkability, says GWU's Chris Leinberger. It has a young, well-educated, workforce; high GDP growth per capita; and public policy that focuses on urban planning. One of the up-and-coming areas is Somerville, touted as the next Cambridge (a hotspot occupied by Harvard and MIT). There, Mayor John Curtatone (whom we snapped, to the left) has been “phenomenal” by putting in place needed zoning, rapid transit, and other infrastructure, Chris says. Assembly Row, Federal Realty's retail, office, and housing development, is the first of many WalkUPs to come. Union Square is next. All told, they'll shift Somerville's tax base toward commercial real estate rather than residential, Chris says.
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