MASSACHUSETTS HAS a residential segregation problem. The issue is particularly pronounced in Greater Boston, where communities of color are tightly packed into environmentally hazardous areas and the racial home ownership gap continues to widen. Entrenched segregation cannot be fixed overnight, but the Commonwealth recently enacted a Housing Choice law that aims to begin the process. To have any chance at success, the law must be implemented […]
Housing
Posted inThe Download
Mass. housing market cooling off, leveling out
Remember the days of crazy bidding wars and waived inspections, with homebuyers desperate to close a sale? It’s looking like those days are over, with a rapidly cooling Massachusetts housing market. But does that mean it’s easy to buy a home now? Absolutely not, experts say. October numbers released this week by real estate data […]
Posted inHousing
Mass. housing market cooling off, leveling out
REMEMBER THE DAYS of crazy bidding wars and waived inspections, with homebuyers desperate to close a sale? It’s looking like those days are over, with a rapidly cooling Massachusetts housing market. But does that mean it’s easy to buy a home now? Absolutely not, experts say. October numbers released this week by real estate data […]
Posted inThe Download
Suburbs stymie new housing growth
A new report by the Boston Foundation confirmed what Boston area residents already know: There’s not enough housing in Greater Boston, and the housing is too expensive. Luc Schuster, executive director of Boston Indicators, the Boston Foundation’s research center, said a big part of the problem is there are higher income suburbs, often built near […]
Posted inHousing
Suburbs stymie new housing growth
A new report by the Boston Foundation confirmed what Boston area residents already know: There’s not enough housing in Greater Boston, and the housing is too expensive. Luc Schuster, executive director of Boston Indicators, the Boston Foundation’s research center, said a big part of the problem is there are higher income suburbs, often built near […]
Posted inHousing, State House News Service
Wu appeals to state for help at Mass and Cass
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ABOUT HALF of the people camped in a stretch of Boston known as “Mass. and Cass” most recently resided in another city or town, underlining the regional nature of the addiction and homelessness crises straining the area, Mayor Michelle Wu said Monday. While her administration continues to grapple with how to […]
Posted inThe Download
Report: Massachusetts needs another 108,000 homes
Massachusetts needs another 108,000 housing units to meet the demand, according to a new national study, which ranks Massachusetts 11th among states in its housing underproduction. Up for Growth, a Washington, DC-based housing nonprofit whose members include housing developers and economic development organizations, released a report Thursday that examines housing underproduction nationwide. The problem is […]
Posted inHousing
Report: Massachusetts needs another 108,000 homes
MASSACHUSETTS NEEDS another 108,000 housing units to meet the demand, according to a new national study, which ranks Massachusetts 11th among states in its housing underproduction. Up for Growth, a Washington, DC-based housing nonprofit whose members include housing developers and economic development organizations, released a report Thursday that examines housing underproduction nationwide. The problem is […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t pit housing crisis against climate crisis
TODAY IN MASSACHUSETTS, both the Baker administration and the Legislature – and some individual communities, too – are working on proposed “net zero” policies to address the climate crisis. Dramatic building code changes are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. However, they would undeniably also impose increased costs on new residential construction, and […]
Posted inOpinion
Is Harvard replicating the Seaport in Allston?
SLEEK EXPENSIVE apartment houses with river views. Laboratory and office buildings in symmetrical rows. A hotel, a conference center, a central plaza. Upscale retail at ground level. Trees, planters, native plants. An enclave of privilege. Such is Harvard’s vision so far for its new Enterprise Research Campus in Allston. Alternatively, consider this: a dense aggregation […]