A new report from Harvard shows that Boston's housing affordability crisis is created fundamentally by regulation.
Housing prices in Eastern Massachusetts are higher than in all but a handful of other areas in the United States. Over the last 25 years, price increases in Eastern Massachusetts have been second only to one other region. In previous research, Edward L. Glaeser, a Harvard University economics professor, and his team have found that increasingly stringent land-use regulations are the primary cause of high housing prices in regions such as greater Boston.
The Pioneer Institute and the Rappaport Institute will release on January 5, 2006, a publicly accessible databases that details the full array of regulations that 187 communities use to shape residential development within their borders and analyzes whether and how local regulations have affected housing production and prices in the region.
From the article:
"The report, which is based on a two-year survey of land-use rules in the 187 cities and towns within 50 miles of Boston, points to locally mandated lot sizes as large as 2 acres and overly restrictive wetlands and septic rules as the most significant barriers to housing construction. It also cites local prohibitions on irregularly shaped lots and ''growth caps" limiting the number of units that can be built in a year. The survey did not include the city of Boston itself, where development is denser, or Cape Cod."
Thanks to Hugh Pavletich
FULL STORY: Housing slowdown blamed on local rules

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

Seattle Builds Subway-Sized Tunnel — for Stormwater
The $700 million ‘stormwater subway’ is designed to handle overflows during storms, which contain toxic runoff from roadways and vehicles.

Feds Clear Homeless Encampment in Oregon Forest
The action displaced over 100 people living on national forest land near Bend, Oregon.

Is This Urbanism?
Chuck Wolfe ponders a recommended subscription list of Substack urbanists and wonders — as have others — about the utility of the "urbanist" moniker.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions