This is an excerpt from the OCA newsletter of 28 August 2018. Subscribe to OCA Monthly Updates here.
The next meeting of the OCA committee is 6.30pm, Thursday 30 August. You can get minutes from our last meeting here.
Some highlights from the past month:
Civic activism: On Wednesday 5 September, the OCA will host a dialogue with Crispian Olver, author of “How to Steal a City”, on how citizens can be active agents in promoting democratic local government and combatting ‘municipal capture’. See the event details here.
Heritage Day event: On Heritage Day (Mon 24 September) the OCA is planning a Social History tour of Obs. To find out more or take part, email [email protected].
Affordable housing: Last month, students with Northeastern University conducted an OCA survey to learn more about what people living and working in Obs think about affordable housing. At a reportback on the survey findings on 3 August, we learned that respondents had showed a strong interest in promoting affordable housing in Obs, and ensuring that provision of affordable housing should be a precondition for any further developments in the neighbourhood. The students’ presentation is here (5MB). The Large Development Group hopes to hold a detailed community report-back on these survey findings soon.
Building violations: The OCA is calling on Obs residents to monitor and report building violations, especially unreasonable noise and disturbances after hours. Find out more here.
Supporting local business: The Obs Business Forum has created an online directory of shops, restaurants, non-profits and businesses in the area, to help residents to support community initiatives and “buy local”. Find it at tinyurl.com/Relax-in-Obs
Help promote Obs businesses by posting on social media using #iloveobs
To have your business or non-profit added to the online directory please contact Olivia at atouchofmadness.events@gmail.
Tell your neighbours: We want to make this monthly newsletter available to Obs residents who are not currently OCA members. If you know someone who would find this newsletter useful, please invite them to subscribe here.
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for announcements and updates throughout the month: @ObservatoryCivicAssocation.