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Opportunity
May 9, 2007

Who's to pay for affordable housing?

Martha’s Vinyard and Nantucket residents are advocating for a new levy on home sales to pay for affordable housing. State lawmakers are now debating this proposal for the islands. Lawmakers, developers, and housing advocates have been debating variations on this kind of...
Opportunity
May 1, 2007

Which way to a greater Boston region?

The indispensable Amy Dain reports from the provinces: Today the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) released its recommendations for the future growth of the region. Its goals for increased housing choice are right on. Implementation will be no easy task, though. A...
Opportunity
April 28, 2007

Will Massachusetts' economic recovery be short-lived?

Good news, everyone. According to today’s Boston Globe, Massachusetts’ economy is growing again – and at almost 4 times the rate as that of the national economy. But, a note of caution. Massachusetts’ economic growth is imperiled by – surprise, surprise –...
Opportunity
April 22, 2007

Build it and they will come?

I think we have heard that one before. So now we are going to build a $1.4 billion commuter line to New Bedford, even though the T can’t afford it, even though that will add to the ongoing costs of the T...
Opportunity
February 8, 2007

Rehabbing Urban Redevelopment: Working Paper on Building the Next Urban Economy

This report surveys 14 Massachusetts cities outside the immediate Boston metropolitan market, which other studies have identified as “weak market” or “gateway” cities. A number of the Commonwealth’s cities have had difficulty adapting to large-scale changes in the national and global economies....
Opportunity
December 1, 2006

Housing Programs in Weak Market Neighborhoods

Author: Peter A. Gagliardi, Executive Director, HAP Inc. This paper will focus on programs that subsidize the building or rehabilitation of units for owner occupancy, as opposed to the development of rental properties. Most weak market neighborhoods already feature a high proportion...
American Citizenship, Opportunity
January 1, 2006

Regulation and the Rise of Housing Prices in Greater Boston: A study based on new data from 187 communities in eastern Massachusetts

This paper is part of the Initiative on Local Housing Regulation, a joint effort of the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research and Harvard University’s Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston. As part of this initiative, researchers at the Pioneer Institute and the...
Opportunity
December 1, 2005

Residential Land-Use Regulation in Eastern Massachusetts: A Study of 187 Communities

Local housing regulations concerning zoning, road design and installation, and the environment play a fundamental role in housing development in Massachusetts. National studies have indicated that in some regions of the country, including Massachusetts, municipalities have used regulations to restrict the supply...
American Citizenship, Opportunity
January 1, 2003

Getting Home: Overcoming Barriers to Housing in Greater Boston

Author: Charles C. Euchner, Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. With Elizabeth G. Frieze, Harvard University Affordable housing is important to the vitality of Massachusetts communities, but the state needs to encourage the marketplace to...
Opportunity
January 1, 2003

Getting Home: Overcoming Barriers to Housing in Greater Boston

Author: Charles C. Euchner, Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. With Elizabeth G. Frieze, Harvard University Affordable housing is important to the vitality of Massachusetts communities, but the state needs to encourage the marketplace to...