Report: MBTA Communities Act has Created Just 7,000 New Housing Units

The MBTA Communities Act, passed five years ago to encourage Massachusetts towns to rezone for more housing near transit, is yielding “real but modest benefits,” according to an analysis from Boston Indicators.

As Sam Drysdale explains in the Commonwealth Beacon, “The Boston Indicators report found that nearly 7,000 housing units are now in the permitting, construction or occupancy pipeline across more than 100 projects in 34 eastern Massachusetts communities as a direct result of zoning changes adopted under the 2021 law.”

Report author Amy Dain says the law’s impacts, in some places, have been modest compared to the overwhelming need. “While the MBTA Communities Act was designed in part to steer housing growth toward transit, the report shows that only about 30 percent of the units in the current pipeline are located within a half-mile of train stations.”

According to the report, production is heavily concentrated in a small number of large developments. “Just 19 projects with more than 100 units each account for roughly three-quarters of all MBTA Communities housing in the pipeline.”