The Boston Zoning Code is one of the first in the nation to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.
Back in December, Boston took steps to become the first large city in the nation to include Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) requirements in its zoning code. The news broke about the city's historic action after a vote by the City Council and an announcement of support by Mayor Martin J. Walsh.
According to the press release from Mayor Walsh's office, the new zoning amendment "will require developers in Boston to take substantial steps to stem displacement and provide further access to housing to those historically discriminated against."
"Boston's draft AFFH identifies over 100 actions under 14 goals across city agencies, including amending the Boston Zoning Code to affirmatively further fair housing," adds the press release. Moreover, the approved amendment to the Boston Zoning Code requires proposed development projects and Planned Development Areas (PDAs) to undergo Article 80 review "to consider impacts on area residents historically discriminated against so that steps can be taken to reduce those impacts, provide new housing opportunities, and address past histories of exclusion.
An article by Simón Rios provided news coverage of the approved zoning amendment at the time of a Planning Commission vote that preceded the City Council vote. Rios describes the new AFFH requirements in comparison to considerations the city's zoning code has traditionally granted to parking or environmental consequences.
"As part of the new rule, developers would receive a report from the city that includes demographic information of the neighborhood, as well as notes on any 'historical exclusion' of people within that area," reports Rios. "In their proposals, the builders then would be required to respond to those details, as well as present “intervention options” to address any negative housing impacts."
Fast forwarding to February, another article by James Jennings, Kathy Brown, Lincoln Larmond, and Robert Terrell provides insight into the political process that paved the way for this historic moment in Boston planning, in addition to detailing the measures implemented by the zoning amendment.
Read the full story: Fair Housing and Zoning: Toward a New Boston?
HUD Plans to Kill Key Fair Housing Rule
The department issued a proposal to eliminate the disparate impact rule, a cornerstone of some discrimination rulings under the Fair Housing Act.
Planning Fair: How Fair Housing Intersects with Planning
The successful implementation of fair housing laws requires the active participation of urban planners, land use boards, elected officials, and the wider planning community.
Zoning Board of Appeals Overhaul One Step Toward Approval Process Reform in Boston
Mayor Wu recently overhauled the makeup of Boston’s Zoning Board of Appeals, but bigger changes will be necessary to depoliticize the city’s development approvals process.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority