SLEEK EXPENSIVE apartment houses with river views. Laboratory and office buildings in symmetrical rows. A hotel, a conference center, a central plaza. Upscale retail at ground level. Trees, planters, native […]
Housing
Posted inOpinion
Landlord resents ‘bullying’ by Somerville officials
HIGH RENTAL HOUSING costs have long been a source of concern among Greater Boston housing advocates. Rapidly rising inflation and a continued shortage of new housing construction have amplified activists’ […]
Posted inOpinion
Falmouth is demonstrating that ‘Housing Choice’ can work
IT HAS BEEN A LITTLE over a year since Gov. Charlie Baker’s “Housing Choice” legislation was signed into law, providing an innovative bundle of tools for municipalities to incentivize housing […]
Posted inOpinion, Race/Racism
Zoning has played a major role in racial segregation
IN RESPONSE TO decades of rising housing costs across the Commonwealth, Massachusetts recently amended the state zoning act to require local governments to reform their zoning laws. The amendments are […]
Posted inOpinion
Right to counsel needed on housing issues
WHEN A DISABLED VETERAN with diabetes fell behind on his rent in 2020, his landlord illegally denied him heat during the winter, forcing him to reside in inhumane and unlivable […]
Posted inOpinion
A strategy for tackling housing, climate crises simultaneously
TWO CRISES are bearing down on our state. There’s the critical shortage of affordable housing, which leaves ever more of our neighbors unable to keep a roof over their heads. […]
Posted inEconomy
Nantucket voters send short-term rental regs back for more work
AFTER CONTENTIOUS months of debate, Nantucket voters at town meeting Monday night passed basic regulations for short-term rentals, but declined to take any action on dueling proposals that would have […]
Posted inEconomy
Bold action needed to close the racial homeownership gap
APRIL 11, 2022, marked 100 days since I became the executive director of a nonprofit organization that has become near and dear to me. In 2004, my real estate agent suggested […]
Posted inEconomy
Short-term rental battle riles Nantucket
THE REAL ESTATE listing for the four-bedroom home on Nantucket portrays an idyllic setting for a summer vacation, a mile from the beach. There’s a deck overlooking a large yard; […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lawsuit challenges statute that denies homeowners profit from foreclosed homes
DEBORAH FOSS, a 66-year-old disabled retiree, used her life savings in 2015 to buy a two-family house in New Bedford. A year later, dealing with medical and financial problems and […]
Posted inOpinion
Rethink governance of the East Boston waterfront
THERE’S A NEW KIND of “tragedy of the commons” occurring on the shores of East Boston. It pits fear of luxury condo development against public access and climate resiliency measures. […]
Posted inOpinion
On second thought, T zoning proposal needs a redo
LAST SUMMER, a traffic snarl on the Massachusetts Turnpike sent me south to Route 20. Driving west, I found myself in a desolate landscape more akin to deindustrialized Ohio than […]
Posted inOpinion
With climate changing, get educated about flood insurance
IT’S CLEAR THE CLIMATE is changing. According to FEMA, the U.S. has experienced more severe flooding in the last decade (18 severe floods during 2010-2019) than during the prior three […]
Posted inUncategorized
Wind down of housing assistance raises concerns
AS A FEDERAL rental assistance program winds down, housing advocates are looking to the state to help fill the gap. But the state assistance programs are not as generous as […]
Posted inOpinion
Why the MBTA is key — to easing the housing crunch
MASSACHUSETTS IS EXPERIENCING a severe housing crisis. Talk to anyone who has tried to purchase a home in the past few years or tried to find an affordable apartment and […]
Posted inOpinion
Why a real estate transfer tax is a bad idea
ONE POLICY that has recently garnered attention on Beacon Hill is the real estate transfer fee: a de facto new sales tax on real estate. The idea would be to […]
Posted inOpinion
Our shelter system in Mass. is falling short
FOR THE OVER 8,000 men and women who will experience homelessness in Massachusetts this year, another winter amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could be life threatening. For the organizations and […]
Posted inOpinion
Huge upside to new MBTA upzoning guidelines
IN THE 2021 Greater Boston Housing Report Card, the Boston Foundation highlighted how the pandemic has amplified what was already one of Greater Boston’s most pressing needs – adequate housing supply in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mass General Brigham backs real estate transfer fee
MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM, the state’s largest private employer, on Wednesday urged passage of legislation that would allow Massachusetts communities to assess fees on higher-end real estate transactions to support the […]
Posted inOpinion
On housing, Wu should look to Somerville
FOR OVER TWO DECADES, solving Boston’s housing crisis has been the Holy Grail for its city’s mayors. For newly elected Michelle Wu, who has recently announced plans to study how to make […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mass. to start trimming back housing assistance in Jan.
MASSACHUSETTS WILL MAKE several changes to its housing assistance program next year that will limit who can get assistance, how much, and for how long. The changes are meant to […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Removal of Mass. and Cass encampment long overdue
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu’s plan to clear tents from the Mass. and Cass homeless camping site by January 12 is long overdue. If only it had been done earlier, the […]
Posted inThe Download
Demand for housing assistance accelerating rapidly
It is clear that pandemic-related struggles made it harder for many people to pay rent, even as eviction moratoriums helped them stay in their homes. A report released this week […]
Posted inUncategorized
Demand for housing assistance accelerating rapidly
IT IS CLEAR that pandemic-related struggles made it harder for many people to pay rent, even as eviction moratoriums helped them stay in their homes. A report released this week […]