More Affordable Housing Needed to Keep Pace with Boston's Growth

The office of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's released a revised version of the "Housing A Changing City: Boston 2030" [pdf] report this week, increasing the goal for housing creation to keep pace with a growing population.

When released originally in 2014, the report targeted 53,000 units by 2030, reports Lynn Jolicoeur, but the revised report increases the goal to 69,000 units. The goal reflects the city's commitment to keeping one-fifth of all housing units in the city deed-restricted as affordable housing.

"City leaders say almost 18,000 new units have already been completed and close to 9,500 more have begun construction since the original goal was set, outpacing that goal," according to Jolicoeur.

Still, some city officials say this plan reflects what the city can do, not what it must do to keep pace with the need.

"It's very expensive to build affordable housing. So while we're putting a lot of money in those projects — and we want to do even more — we actually do need the federal government to give us what they used to, and then we could create even more affordable housing," Chief of Housing and Director of Neighborhood Development Sheila Dillon is quoted saying in the article.