Bitsy Perlman

About Bitsy:
I moved to Brookline in 2009 to attend school. I am a renter who has lived in several different Brookline neighborhoods; I’ve been in Brookline Village since 2019. Bicycling has been my primary mode of transportation for over 15 years. My perspective on Brookline is from the point of view of a cyclist, walker, and T rider.

I graduated from BU with an Economics PhD in 2016. For work, I study science and innovation policy. Outside of work, I think about transportation policy and am part of an urban planning book club. I’ve attended Temple Sinai for over a decade.

My priorities as a Town Meeting Member include:

• Brookline continuing to be a strong and vibrant community. I wish to see it grow into a place that reflects the best American values -- in particular, I worry about a “Palo Alto-ification” path: a homogenization of the town, where only the wealthiest can afford to live and where the only businesses are banks and high-end restaurants. Compliance with the new MBTA communities law is an excellent place to start bringing more housing to Brookline. Supporting local communities and environmental goals means investing in dense, walkable places where more people can afford to live and more businesses can find locations to grow.

• Creating a safe transportation environment for pedestrians and cyclists. People's lives are shaped by the transportation that makes sense for their built environment. We must endeavor to create a transportation environment that encourages and is safe for pedestrians and cyclists by reducing street widths, particularly at intersections, adding more crossing, more raised crossings, and more protected bike lanes.

• Overall, residents of Brookline have wonderful access to parks and open space, however, much of the parkland in Brookline is inaccessible to the majority of its residents, who live in North Brookline with limited car access. We should work to change this, perhaps by adding BlueBike and other basic bicycle infrastructure and considering if shuttles or programs with transportation can be run by schools or Brookline Parks and Rec or Adult Education.

Email me at bitsy.brookline@gmail.com 

Find me on Twitter at @BitsyPerlman

Endorsed by Brookline for Everyone and Brookline Equity Coalition.