Poll shows most Mass. voters favor more housing despite local resistance
A new poll from MassINC, commissioned by the pro-housing group Abundant Housing Massachusetts, found that the majority of the state’s voters actually support new housing development, favoring it over other considerations like preserving the character of neighborhoods.
Green retrofit projects face hurdles under federal funding cuts
When Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation was awarded a federal grant last fall, it was set to mean health improvements, cost savings, and greenhouse gas reductions for residents in its Talbot Bernard Senior property.
Build housing on public land? Yes, if it’s done right.
The Trump administration’s Joint Task Force on Federal Land for Housing is setting out to tackle a real issue in a promising way: America is in a housing crisis, and public lands are a viable path for narrowing the gap between housing supply and demand.
Healey-Driscoll Administration Promotes Efforts to Ensure Fair Housing
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) last week hosted “Beyond Fair Housing Month: The Future of Fair Housing in Massachusetts” to close out the month with a proclamation from Governor Maura Healey declaring April as “Fair Housing Month” and announced a series of regional listening sessions launching later this spring that will be led by the state’s first-ever Office of Fair Housing.
How many meetings does it take in Philadelphia to build 57 affordable homes? A lot.
Public Meetings Privilege Housing Opponents — Here’s How to Fix It
Seattle’s City Council has been pushing more public meetings for the Comprehensive Plan and rezone process — despite significant outreach that the City has already carried out. Research shows that public meetings systematically and structurally privileges wealthier, older homeowners, and even indicates that the public meeting process cannot be easily reformed.
Priced out: How Boston’s college housing crunch displaces longtime residents
Stacy Fox, executive director of the Boston University Initiative on Cities, leads university-wide programs and research focused on urban policy, governance and community engagement. “There’s an increased demand for housing, which impacts the rental prices,” Fox said. “A group of students who want to live together might be more able to pay higher rents than a family who lives nearby, and this can sometimes lead to displacement of long-time residents.”
Trump has vowed to bring down housing costs. What is his administration doing?
Though the Trump administration has stressed homeownership as “a ticket to the American dream” as it attempts to herald in “the golden age of America,” housing has appeared to take somewhat of a backseat to the issues of foreign policy and the border in the opening months of the president’s second term. And some of his moves on those fronts — like levying tariffs and upping deportations — risk contributing to higher costs and hurdles to homeownership for everyday Americans.
Zoning & Planning Committee Report – March 24, 2025
Zachary LeMel, Chief of Long Range Planning, presented the attached
presentation, which outlined the previous teardown analysis. He also explained that the
current proposal to prevent teardowns is before the committee instead of one to prevent
teardowns due to the drastic measures needed to prevent teardowns, the benefits of
regulating contextual development, and the need for time to evaluate other recent zoning
amendments.
Harris County’s routinely long Commissioners Court agendas are often short on details
A Houston Landing review of the cities and counties in the Houston region, found Harris County is among the worst when it comes to posting details of the hundreds of agenda items, including million-dollar contracts, audits and infrastructure projects that make up the county’s $2.6 billion budget. Of the 49 jurisdictions reviewed, 36 post supplemental or background information for agenda items. Ten governments post only their agendas. Three — including Harris County — post incomplete information.