Jess's Platform: Thoughtful, sustainable planning
I know there’s not a choice between having things change or having them stay the same. The real choice is between planning for change or having change happen to us, and the latter rarely works out well.
That’s why I’m running for re-election: I love our wonderful town and want to make sure we keep planning for our future. Careful planning helps us maintain and improve upon what we love about Dedham like our small town feel, strong neighborhoods and civic connections, and access to open space and waterways. Effective planning is also critical for helping address some of our biggest challenges, including traffic congestion, dangerous streets, aging infrastructure, financial pressures, and a changing climate.
That’s why I’m running for re-election: I love our wonderful town and want to make sure we keep planning for our future. Careful planning helps us maintain and improve upon what we love about Dedham like our small town feel, strong neighborhoods and civic connections, and access to open space and waterways. Effective planning is also critical for helping address some of our biggest challenges, including traffic congestion, dangerous streets, aging infrastructure, financial pressures, and a changing climate.
What does Sustainable Planning Mean?
In the most simple terms, Sustainability means meeting our current needs without jeopardizing the needs of future generations. To plan in a sustainable way, we need to balance caring for Dedham’s natural environment, community well-being, and economic growth, and make sure our decisions will stand the test of time so Dedham keeps its small-town feel for our children and grandchildren’s generations.
Natural Environment: For evidence of how the planning decisions of today impact future generations, we can look at Providence Highway as a case study. Compare Providence Highway in Dedham to the VFW Parkway just across the border in West Roxbury. You’ll find that where West Rox has a tree-lined boulevard, Dedham is stuck with massive parking lots, lots of pavement, and few trees. When a new street, highway, or building is built we can expect it to stay there for decades to come, which is why planning with the future in mind is so important. With a changing climate predicted to bring more extreme weather, we need to encourage developers to plan for tomorrow with less impermeable surface (like concrete and asphalt), more open space, and to incorporate renewable energy systems like solar panels and electric vehicle infrastructure.
Community Well-being: Did you know that of all the factors that contribute to your health, only 40% are related to your genetics and healthcare? The other 60% are social, environmental, and behavioral factors, such as the quality of the air you breathe, the water you drink, your connection to your community and your ability to exercise. Planning decisions around sidewalks and connectivity, creating space for civic activity and recreation, and even building design can contribute to community and individual well-being.
Economic Growth: The Planning Board does not have oversight over Dedham’s finances, but our decisions do impact tax revenue. Smart redevelopment means working with developers to improve aging, often unoccupied space which adds to the Town’s commercial tax base. With careful and thoughtful planning, Dedham can optimize commercial tax revenues without impacting what’s special about our residential neighborhoods.
Natural Environment: For evidence of how the planning decisions of today impact future generations, we can look at Providence Highway as a case study. Compare Providence Highway in Dedham to the VFW Parkway just across the border in West Roxbury. You’ll find that where West Rox has a tree-lined boulevard, Dedham is stuck with massive parking lots, lots of pavement, and few trees. When a new street, highway, or building is built we can expect it to stay there for decades to come, which is why planning with the future in mind is so important. With a changing climate predicted to bring more extreme weather, we need to encourage developers to plan for tomorrow with less impermeable surface (like concrete and asphalt), more open space, and to incorporate renewable energy systems like solar panels and electric vehicle infrastructure.
Community Well-being: Did you know that of all the factors that contribute to your health, only 40% are related to your genetics and healthcare? The other 60% are social, environmental, and behavioral factors, such as the quality of the air you breathe, the water you drink, your connection to your community and your ability to exercise. Planning decisions around sidewalks and connectivity, creating space for civic activity and recreation, and even building design can contribute to community and individual well-being.
Economic Growth: The Planning Board does not have oversight over Dedham’s finances, but our decisions do impact tax revenue. Smart redevelopment means working with developers to improve aging, often unoccupied space which adds to the Town’s commercial tax base. With careful and thoughtful planning, Dedham can optimize commercial tax revenues without impacting what’s special about our residential neighborhoods.
