Ben Demers

City of Somerville

CITY GOVERNMENT: Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the City Council govern the City of Somerville, dubbed the "Best Run City" in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe. Numerous national awards and recognition bestowed upon Somerville in recent years include ranking as a top ten Walk Friendly Community and a "Biker's Paradise", three "All America City" awards, four designations as a U.S. "100 Best Communities for Young People," and federal recognition for the Shape Up Somerville healthy living program. THE CITY ITSELF: Somerville just may be the most interesting 4.1 square miles in New England. Next door to Boston and Cambridge, Somerville is not just close to the abundance of history, high tech, top schools, and culture the Boston area offers, it's a central part of it. George Washington raised the first U.S. flag here, and today Somerville's diverse population of 81,000 spans all walks of life and hails from across the globe (more than 60 languages are spoken by students in our public schools). The City is known for its commitment to progressive ideals, thriving green-tech and innovation hubs, vibrant town squares packed with independent local businesses, a popular restaurant scene, ethnic markets, a proud blue-collar and immigrant heritage, a high-quality workforce, access to higher learning (including Harvard, MIT, and Tufts), and an active and always original arts and maker community (more artists per square mile live here than in any U.S. city other than NYC). Follow the latest on facebook.com/SomervilleCity and @somervillecity