Two Black women from Massachusetts are at the center of what could become a landmark federal case about whether software that screens potential tenants is illegally biased against Black and Hispanic applicants. Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, weighed in on the case, Louis vs. SafeRent Solutions, in a court brief this week, arguing […]
Housing
Posted inCourts, Housing
Lawsuit alleges racial discrimination in tenant screening tool
TWO BLACK WOMEN from Massachusetts are at the center of what could become a landmark federal case about whether software that screens potential tenants is illegally biased against Black and Hispanic applicants. Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, weighed in on the case, Louis vs. SafeRent Solutions, in a court brief this week, arguing […]
Posted inOpinion
Overcoming the restrictions on multi-family housing
Last in a series. CITIES AND TOWNS of Greater Boston have a long history of using zoning to restrict development of multi-family housing that might accommodate families with children. The systematic restrictions have disadvantaged multi-generational households seeking homes in condo or apartment buildings. The restrictions have also undermined the housing market’s dynamism and its ability to meet […]
Posted inOpinion
Where should new multi-family housing go?
WHERE SHOULD new multifamily housing go? This is a fundamental question facing 175 communities across eastern Massachusetts as they work to implement a new law intended to address the region’s housing shortage. The MBTA Communities law requires cities and towns served by Greater Boston’s public transit agency, the MBTA, to enact zoning that allows multifamily housing near […]
Posted inEconomy
With a clean slate, Healey has running room to act on urgent issues
NEW GOVERNORS RARELY ascend to the office as smoothly as Maura Healey. With several cabinet picks still to be announced as she takes office on Thursday, she is essentially working from a clean slate, largely unburdened by the standard swath of campaign promises. That clean slate offers boundless opportunity to shape policy and address questions […]
Posted inOpinion
Seeking predictable permitting for new housing
Third in a five-part series. IF YOU LIVE in an affluent suburb of Boston, your municipality is probably not using as-of-right zoning to permit construction of apartments or condos. If your community is served by the MBTA, then the Massachusetts state Legislature has mandated that your municipality zone for multi-family housing as-of-right. The clock is […]
Posted inOpinion
Solving the MBTA Communities zoning puzzle
IN 2021, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted the MBTA Communities zoning law requiring municipalities served by the MBTA to zone districts “of reasonable size” for multi-family housing at a “gross density” of 15 dwelling units per acre. The law applies to 175 cities and towns. Some may already have zoning that meets the requirements. For most of […]
Posted inOpinion
What the MBTA Communities law means for your town
First of a five-part series. THERE IS A NEW concept in zoning, invented this year by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In promulgated guidelines, the concept has been dubbed “minimum multi-family unit capacity.” I refer to the concept as “zoning capacity.” If you live in a community served by the MBTA, the concept may soon animate […]
Posted inOpinion
Fight racism, pause development on public land in Roxbury
CITY OFFICIALS deliberately designed Boston to separate the Black community and prevent it from taking advantage of the economic success Boston has seen. Nowhere is this more more evident than in Roxbury, which is 50 percent Black and 11 percent White, compared with wealthy Back Bay, which is 73 percent White and 4 percent Black. Roxbury […]
Posted inHousing, State Government
A call for universal rental housing assistance
IN RECENT YEARS, Massachusetts has moved toward making things like health care and quality preschool universally available to all. What if we put affordable rental housing in that same category? That’s the idea behind a report being issued today that outlines an ambitious plan to ensure state rental assistance for all households in Massachusetts that […]