IN THE EFFORT to get more housing built to meet demand — and to temper the continued run-up in costs that make the Boston region one of the most expensive in the country — a flashpoint has emerged that seemingly has little to do with construction costs or zoning rules over housing density. Cars — […]
Housing
Posted inTransportation
Unused parking spots driving up cost of housing
A WIDESPREAD OVER-SUPPLY of parking in metro Boston residential developments is driving up the cost of housing and may encourage people to own cars who otherwise would not, according to a new study by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Over the course of three years, the council determined that during the peak-demand period – overnight […]
Posted inOpinion
Court database shouldn’t be landlord screening tool
ACCESS TO STABLE HOUSING is critical for economic security. With the very high cost of living in Massachusetts, finding housing is a challenge for everyone, particularly for low income people and working families in the state. But imagine how much more difficult that would be if misleading information about an eviction was available to landlords, […]
Posted inOpinion
Climate, housing activists find common ground on tax
EARLIER THIS YEAR, Gov. Charlie Baker made waves when he announced a proposal to increase the real estate deeds excise tax by 50 percent to help fund critical municipal climate resilience projects. The environmental community was pleasantly surprised to hear the governor offer a clear, new funding stream to help prepare our communities for the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Putting out a welcome mat for housing
GREATER BOSTON’S BOOMING HOUSING MARKET may be lucrative to real estate speculators, but the constricted supply of housing isn’t helping those who make long-term investments in their homes, according to a Boston city councilor and housing advocates. Councilor Lydia Edwards, who chairs the Housing and Community Development Committee and represents East Boston, Charlestown, and the […]
Posted inOpinion
Time to stop zoning out children
DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES have accelerated in Boston and elsewhere in recent years. There has been an increase in healthy older people who may no longer want to live in single-family housing and worry about “SST”—snow, stairs, and trash. These Boomers are too young to live in assisted living and usually too affluent to qualify for any […]
Posted inUncategorized
Beacon Hill housing debate centers around local control
THE LATEST BATTLE over state housing laws and what can be built where is a familiar one, pitting those who prize local control against those who think more top-down requirements are needed to create homes that people can afford. Gov. Charlie Baker has aligned himself with mayors, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, developers, and some housing […]
Posted inOpinion
Stop trashing an affordable housing option
PEOPLE ARE BAD-MOUTHING my house. Well, not my house in particular – though it could use a few upgrades, truth be told – but the model itself. After a lifetime of Massachusetts residence and decades of home ownership in the Bay State, my wife and I packed up our lives and took our fixed retirement […]
Posted inOpinion
As mayors, we need Warren’s housing bill
AFFORDABLE HOUSING and access to home ownership are cornerstones of a strong middle class. For generations, affordable rental housing was the first step in the American Dream. For generations, homeownership allowed working families to reach for new opportunities and build wealth. And across those same generations, lending discrimination, often through federally imposed “redlining” policies, helped […]
Posted inOpinion
Eviction rates alarming in Gateway Cities
THE HOUSING MARKETS in Gateway Cities are characterized by blighted properties, an increased vacancy rate, and tepid long-term growth in home values, according to a recent report by MassINC and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations. The conversation on neighborhood stabilization in these communities has centered on homeownership; however, ensuring stabilization also requires limiting […]