Towards an Architecture of Allyship

In 1959, sociologist Peter Townsend set about visiting older people’s care homes across the UK, which were a relatively new concept at the time. A product of the postwar consensus and burgeoning welfare state in the UK, they were designed to replace the Victorian workhouses where an increasing number of older people of limited means were being housed in harsh conditions. Many care homes were set up in these former workhouses, which were spaces designed to be a hostile deterrent to worklessness. Their architectural assemblages reinforced authoritarian discipline and took many principles from prison design.

Are Brookline’s property taxes high? It depends how you measure

On May 5, Brookline voters will decide whether to approve a tax override, which would bring in $23.25 million for town services by hiking property taxes permanently. How residents vote may depend on whether they think taxes here are already too high. But it’s a question that eludes a simple answer.

Mayors Back Market-Rate Housing

A growing majority of U.S. mayors believe increasing market-rate housing supply is key to addressing affordability challenges, according to a new national survey.

The 2025 Menino Survey of Mayors, conducted by Boston University Initiative on Cities, found that 75% of respondents agree or strongly agree that expanding market-rate housing can help reduce costs. That marks a notable increase from 60% in 2021, reflecting shifting attitudes among local leaders as housing shortages persist.

At the same time, 80% of mayors reported that their cities lack sufficient multifamily housing, and 82% strongly support building apartments near transit hubs and business centers.

Burke housing market shifts as prices fall, inventory rises, rents climb

Burke County’s housing market slowed in March, with fewer new listings, fewer closings, and lower sale prices than a year earlier, and buyers gaining more choice and a little more negotiating room.

Sellers are still operating in a functioning market, but one that is less urgent than it was a year ago. Renters, meanwhile, continue to face upward cost pressure.

Another homeless encampment strategy

The Homeless Strategy Office announced a new “homeless encampment management plan” yesterday (emphasis mine): The City currently receives an average of 775 Austin 3-1-1 service requests each month related to encampments and hundreds more follow-up inquiries to these reports. While current operations allow for periodic encampment response, existing staffing levels do not support consistent follow-up or maintenance of previously cleared locations. As a result, many sites experience recurring activity, limiting the City’s ability to maintain progress and public confidence. The updated model is intended to address this structural limitation by increasing operational capacity and establishing a system that balances initial response with ongoing site management.

Most big-city mayors back more housing but question loosening local rules

While three-quarters of mayors say that building more homes would reduce prices, only about a third see their cities’ zoning and permitting rules as a major contributor to the housing shortfall, Boston University’s Initiative on Cities said in a report published this month. Elected leaders are even less convinced they need to reform local building codes or environmental standards to help ramp up construction.

Most mayors say market-rate housing development can boost housing affordability

A majority of U.S. mayors in a 2025 survey believe increasing market-rate housing development can reduce housing costs in their cities. The 75% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with that assertion last year is an increase from 60% in 2021, according to the Menino Survey of Mayors initiated by Boston University’s Initiative on Cities.