A growing movement of grassroots organizing to support new housing construction is having an impact in city halls across the country.
Fed up with high housing costs and the commonly hostile reception to new housing proposals, advocacy groups have sprung up in many communities to attend public meetings to speak in support of developments. A Boston University housing researcher quoted in a Boston Globe article says these groups are having a notable impact on housing politics in Massachusetts.
The nationwide YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard) movement has helped to prompt zoning changes in many states, both red and blue. While some states including Massachusetts, which recently implemented a rezoning mandate in communities served by the Boston area’s public transportation service, are taking action on the state level; much of the work to spur more housing construction has to be done on the local level.
That’s where these pro-housing groups can have a real impact. If local officials hear positive takes on new development as well as opposing voices, they will be more likely to support new housing construction in their communities.
Lack of housing is an urgent problem in many communities around Boston, the Globe reported. For example, over the last decade, Waltham, a Boston suburb, has added more than 10,000 jobs, but only 1,600 housing units.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Jul 8, 2021
As homelessness becomes more visible, building shelters presents opportunities to AEC firms
C.W. Driver Companies and XL Construction have just completed transitional housing projects in California.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 7, 2021
Make sure to get your multifamily amenities mix right
One of the hardest decisions multifamily developers and their design teams have to make is what mix of amenities they’re going to put into each project. A lot of squiggly factors go into that decision: the type of community, the geographic market, local recreation preferences, climate/weather conditions, physical parameters, and of course the budget. The permutations are mind-boggling.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 30, 2021
A post-pandemic ‘new normal’ for apartment buildings
Grimm + Parker’s vision foresees buildings with rentable offices and refrigerated package storage.
![Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]](/sites/default/files/styles/list_big/public/Oceanographer%20John%20Englander%20Talks%20Resiliency%20and%20Buildings%20YT%20new_0.jpg?itok=enJ1TWJ8 "Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]")
Resiliency | Jun 24, 2021
Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]
New on HorizonTV, oceanographer John Englander discusses his latest book, which warns that, regardless of resilience efforts, sea levels will rise by meters in the coming decades. Adaptation, he says, is the key to future building design and construction.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 23, 2021
COVID-19’s impact on multifamily amenities
Multifamily project teams had to scramble to accommodate the overwhelming demand for work-from-home spaces for adults and study spaces for children.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 22, 2021
New apartment community breaks ground in Bethesda
KTGY is designing the project.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 14, 2021
Baccarat Residences Brickell set to rise in Miami
Arquitectonica is designing the project.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 9, 2021
MVE + Partners completes One Museum Square
The luxury apartment community is located in the heart of Los Angeles.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 6, 2021
Multifamily Amenities Survey 2021: Get the latest data on 131 key features for apartments and condos
Download the 2021 Multifamily Amenities Study.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 3, 2021
Student Housing Trends 2021-2022
In this exclusive video interview for HorizonTV, Fred Pierce, CEO of Pierce Education Properties, developer and manager of off-campus student residences, chats with Rob Cassidy, Editor, MULTIFAMILY Design + Construction about student housing during the pandemic and what to expect for on-campus and off-campus housing in Fall 2021 and into 2022.
