CAPTION: At-Large City Councilor John Connolly listens to a group of Boston residents during a hearing at the Copley BPL on July 28.

On Tuesday, July 28, At-Large City Councilor John R. Connolly joined more than 60 people from the Back Bay, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Dorchester, the Fenway, Mission Hill and the South End at the Copley Branch of Boston Public Library for the third City Council hearing of the Special Committee on a Livable Boston.
Connolly, who chairs the committee and is a first-term city councilor, divided residents into six discussion groups, where facilitators fostered discussion about the definition of livability in Boston and residents’ major concerns. A brainstorming session for solutions followed.

The hearing reconvened to hear public testimony from a number of people. Many residents mentioned public safety and clean streets as their top concerns, while others discussed the desire for improvement in public schools.

Connolly said he has already begun work on one resident’s idea and is looking forward to more input from residents.

The mission of the committee is to examine the impact of the recession on Boston residents, to discuss the challenges that people face in making the city their home for a lifetime and to find new ways to make Boston more livable.

Speaking to the mission of the committee, Connolly said, “We’re looking at the reasons people either stay or leave Boston. We’re looking at why so many people struggle with staying in a city they want to make home. We’ve already begun to work on some ideas that residents have had.”

Connolly then discussed the adverse effects of residents leaving the city.

“The city’s future hinges on people choosing to live here for the long term,” Connolly. “When someone leaves Boston for whatever reason, we lose a potential Little League coach, civic leader, or neighbor who starts the crime watch. We lose the people who are the heart of our neighborhoods.”

The two previous hearings were held in Jamaica Plain and Dorchester.