The city of Boston is in the midst of a housing boom, and the city is considering asking developers to set aside a larger number of their units for affordable housing.
Boston's hot property market is putting a crunch on affordable housing. The city's Inclusionary Development Policy requires developers to set aside a percentage of their units for lower rents and the city is now considering raising that percentage. "That would make it the second increase in three years," writes Tim Logan.
The Inclusionary Development Policy is one of a few tools the city has for creating affordable housing. "Walsh has tried other ways to boost affordable housing, endorsing a small surcharge on property owners approved by city voters in 2016, and requiring more affordable units in buildings that go up on city-owned land," Logan reports.
Those in favor of raising the requirement point to Boston's housing boom as evidence that more could be asked of developers; those against it caution that adding too many requirements might slow developers too much and stop affordable housing from getting built in the first place.
FULL STORY: Boston might require developers to set aside more low-income units
Op-Ed: End the Excuses for Lack of Housing Construction
An op-ed in the Boston Globe argues that the endless negotiations over new residential developments—including over the inclusion of affordable housing units—hurts the city's housing market.
Boston's 'sliver lots' could yield over 1,500 affordable homes
The city has identified over 500 vacant parcels suitable for infill housing.
Boston to Top City Libraries With Affordable Housing
Three public libraries will be rebuilt or renovated to include hundreds of affordable housing units.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association