Allston Celebrates Green Initiatives

Almost 50 Allston Brighton residents attended the sixth annual Green Gathering at the German International School last night to celebrate the achievements in making the Allston Brighton community more environmentally-friendly.

The event, hosted by the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation and the Allston Brighton Green Space Advocates, featured a special presentation by Juan Jose Sanchez, a masters degree candidate at Tufts University School of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning who presented evidence from his thesis that surveyed the interest of green spaces in the Latino community of Allston Brighton.

According to Sanchez’s research, men and women differed in the types of spaces they felt most important for the community. Men, for instance, sought more soccer fields and women wanted more spaces for family-oriented activities.

Christine Poff of Boston Parks Advocates spoke about goals to elevate the profile of parks in the Allston Brighton community.

“How do we make residents realize how important [the parks] are?” Poff said to the attendees. “How can we really capture the moment now when green spaces are looking really lousy?”

She suggested trying to change public officials’ view of the parks through increased advocacy—working with decision-makers and creating a network where community residents can connect with each other.

David McNair of the Allston Brighton North Neighbors Forum responded to Poff’s request for a communal conversation by broaching the issue of physical accessibility to the park spaces.

The overall consensus seemed to be that such problems would require bringing different agencies, such as parks and transportation, together—another conversation for another year.

—Staff writer Xi Yu can be reached at xyu@college.harvard.edu.