Looking for a specific report, sample RFP and other documents that explain the affordable housing process? The Housing Toolbox resource section has all the materials that appear on this site.
A short worksheet intended to guide municipalities considering the adoption of Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) through the initial decisions making process.
For questions on the worksheet or on implementing IZ in your community, contact MHP's Katy Lacy at klacy@mhp.net
What do the experts think? The American Planning Association (APA) voted to adopt this Housing Policy Guide in April 2019. The guide helps planners identify emerging trends related to accessible housing for all and key policy positions that APA supports.
Watch a video from Urban Institute on how zoning impacts us all.
The 2019 Greater Boston Housing Report Card is a collaboration between The Boston Foundation, Northeastern University Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Planning, UMASS Donahue Institute, and MHP Center for Housing Data. The report looks at the state of housing in Greater Boston, specifically around supply and demand, production, segregation, and local control.
Visit the website for a concise summary of each chapter and to explore interactive maps and tables on community data.
Researcher Amy Dain reports on two years of research into the regulations, plans and permits in the 100 cities and towns surrounding Boston. The research was commissioned by the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance and funded collaboratively with: Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Association of Realtors, Massachusetts Housing Partnership, MassHousing, and Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
A list of 9 essential factors to think about when considering land for housing development.
A 2018 white paper by the Pioneer institute on the state of ADUs in local Eastern Massachusetts bylaws and ordinances.
This document was created by Mass Housing as a guide for third-party monitoring agents of affordable housing in Massachusetts.
The database is a resource that tracks technical assistance (TA) program awards and grants from state agencies related to housing and planning from fiscal year 2016 - 2018. The database includes all 351 communities, even if they have not had a recent grant or technical assistance. In addition to tracking grants and TA, the database also has information about the community, such as the last reported percentage of qualified housing on the Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI), Housing Choice Initiative designation, and whether the community has passed the Community Preservation Act (CPA).
The resources below are (1) A letter from DHCD Undersecretary, Janelle Chan, introducing and explaining the database, (2) a comprehensive list and description of all 14 TA programs tracked, (3) A print friendly PDF of the database, and (4) The actual excel sheet of the database so users can sort the data more easily. The next update of the public database will be in June 2019.
For more information about the database, please contact Chris Kluchman, Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Housing Choice Program Director at Chris.Kluchman@mass.gov.
The US Census collects data on new housing units from local governments in a data set called the Building Permit Survey (BPS). A recent analysis of the US Census Building Permit Survey for Massachusetts shows there was at least a 14% under count of new housing units over the last 5 years. This document explains:
For more information on the data collected for the BPS analysis, please contact Chris Kluchman, Housing Choice Program Director at the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), at Chris.Kluchman@mass.gov