Boston-Area Mayors Announce Ambitious Housing Target

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the regional planning agency for the Boston region, has announced a target for 185,000 new units by 2030 in the 15-city area represented by the Metro Mayors Coalition.

An article by Elise Harmon explains more:

The Metro Mayors Coalition (MMC) – a 15-municipality coalition of cities and towns representing 1.5 million people – has worked since last December to establish housing targets and to agree on a set of 10 principles to guide future housing development and preservation. The cities and towns in the coalition include Arlington, Boston, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Newton, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, and Winthrop, and the coalition is staffed and convened by MAPC.

Since 2010, the 15 cities and towns of the Metro Mayors Coalition have added almost 110,000 residents and 148,000 new jobs while permitting only 32,500 new housing units. MAPC projects that the communities will add 235,000 new jobs from 2015 to 2030. This economic growth and the retirement of baby boomers will bring hundreds of thousands new workers to the region.

Harmon provides more data and projections on economic growth for more context on the announcement.