#UrbanDevelopment

Requirement that 20 percent of a housing project remain permanently affordable places burden on developers that should be borne by the public as a whole Cambridge – Pioneer New England Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit in state Land Court against the City...

This edition of The House Call explores new American Community Survey data comparing home values and rents to household incomes in Massachusetts cities. It also discusses a proposed rezoning in Boston that would allow for taller buildings downtown.

This edition of The House Call explores a federal proposal to cut Housing and Urban Development funding by 44 percent, and how it contrasts with a more recent congressional appropriations bill. The newsletter also provides an update on compliance with Massachusetts' multifamily zoning mandate around MBTA stations after the latest deadline.

The March edition of The House Call covers recent zoning changes in Cambridge that allow 4 to 6-story buildings on every residential lot. It also summarizes reform recommendations from a state commission tasked with advising the Healey administration on how to ramp up housing production.

This issue of The House Call covers the implementation of Boston's energy efficiency standards for large buildings. It also provides an update on the MBTA Communities Act after a busy fall Town Meeting season featuring rezoning votes, forced referenda, and - more recently - the SJC's Milton case decision.

Pioneer Institute is debuting The House Call, a monthly newsletter covering housing-related news and market trends in Massachusetts. The first issue explores reform options for Boston's arcane development approvals process and major reform items from the state's November 2024 economic development bill. Read our December issue today!

Boston, Mass. – A Pioneer Institute review of reforms enacted in metropolitan areas across the country finds that to achieve more affordable housing in the coming decades, Greater Boston should focus on policies such as making it easier to build small multi-family projects, retrofit commercial areas with new housing, and loosen parking and minimum lot size requirements.