With the official “pause” button hit for a year on the Squares + Streets zoning reform process in Codman Square and Four Corners, more than 100 residents, community leaders, and city planners gathered in the Great Hall on June 4 for their own community-led conversation about the future of the area.
“If you grew up here and love your community and want to stay in the community, we need to make sure the right processes and plans are put in place so we don’t get pushed out and can stay in the neighborhood we love,” said Marilyn Forman, a long-time resident of Four Corners and a staff member at Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC).
Forman was one of several speakers who said that displacement fears were spurred by zoning changes discussed during a Squares + Streets process that was later paused by city officials, with plans to revisit things in 2026. A group that formed in response, dubbed Codman Square United, intends to host a series of conversations in the interim.
Above, Marilyn Forman and Maridena Rojas discussed the frameworks of a displacement strategy at one of several roundtable discussions during the meeting. Seth Daniel photo
The Great Hall event was also sponsored by the Codman Square Neighborhood Council (CSNC), West of Washington Coalition (WOW), Talbot Norfolk Triangle (TNT), Action for Equity, and the city’s Planning Department.
“Squares + Streets has been frustrating because it’s been very difficult to get the city to even talk about displacement or even that process’s timeline,” said Mike Prokosch, who helped found Codman Square United. “The take-away issue here is now is the time to dig in and come up with plans that will work for us. In Codman Square and Four Corners, everything with Squares + Streets is supposed to restart next year.”
Others leading the way were Cynthia Loesch-Johnson of CSNC, Marvin Martin of Greater Four Corners, and Rachele Gardner of WOW.
Former resident Shamilia Lloyd gave testimony about her own displacement from Talbot Avenue where she grew up, then lost her housing, ending up in a shelter.
She encouraged folks in that position to choose local places, as most shelters give residents a timeline to find new housing, and often that results in desperation – with people choosing faraway places like Pittsfield, Methuen, and Holyoke.
“When we find ourselves in shelter, we often get displaced to other places we’re not familiar with,” she said. “I was the only one in the shelter to pick a place in Boston and I was fortunate to get placed in the Charlestown development.
“I was in a place that was familiar, but many of my friends went to places like Pittsfield that has no transportation or amenities or services. To get back to family here, they have to take a Greyhound bus. Everything that is familiar is gone when you get displaced. You don’t know anything about the place, and you lose your support network and your community.”
The focus of this first meeting, Loesch-Johnson said, was to find out what resources the city has available to prevent exactly what Shamilia Lloyd shared, with future meetings being about solutions and ideas.
The city’s Planning Department shared its official Anti-Displacement Policy, which came out in draft form in March and is scheduled to be finalized this summer. A two-year rollout of the policy is expected to follow, with early action items starting this year, according to the Department’s Caitlin Coppinger.
The plan details the various definitions of displacement for residents and businesses, and focuses on “the four P’s,” which are protect, preserve, produce, and prosper.
About 100 residents and community leaders took the next step in forming about a dozen small groups for a roundtable discussion about their observations – who is leaving and where are they going? There was also a good deal of brainstorming about what policies might make this worse, with some focusing on potential “unintended consequences” of allowing the demolition of existing homes in the area to build larger buildings with smaller units.
Others talked about connecting wrap-around services to the community to help those struggling get help before losing housing – such as amplifying food resources and utility assistance.
Finally, one group stressed the idea of getting useful job training programs into the community so residents can secure in-demand jobs that will help them earn enough money to be able to stay and not struggle.
The group plans to re-convene in September.
