H.R. 6644, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, passed the House tonight 390–9, a rare bipartisan moment in an increasingly partisan World. The bill modernizes federal housing programs, expands financing tools & cuts red tape to help boost housing supply nationwide.

In 2014, Congressman Stephen Lynch (MA-08) appeared at the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals to oppose an 8-unit building (with 14 parking spaces) replacing a single-family home in South Boston. The neighborhood’s median condo price has surged from $489K to over $900K today.

In 2014, Congressman Stephen Lynch (MA-08) appeared at the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals to oppose an 8-unit building (with 14 parking spaces) replacing a single-family home in South Boston. The neighborhood’s median condo price has surged from $489K to over $900K today.

Let’s go @patriots.bsky.social & @mbta.com!

Massachusetts isn’t just moving too slowly on housing, it’s becoming a national outlier in its lack of urgency to fix the systemic barriers that made it one of the hardest, most expensive places in America to build homes.

Some exciting (& bittersweet) news: our Chief of Staff & Policy Director @andrewdfine.bsky.social will be leaving Open New York to join the Mamdani admin, where he will be a senior advisor to DM Bozorg overseeing housing policy 🧵

Massachusetts isn’t just moving too slowly on housing, it’s becoming a national outlier in its lack of urgency to fix the systemic barriers that made it one of the hardest, most expensive places in America to build homes.

The fact that it took 5+ years to fully implement MBTA Communities reforms is not an excuse we should allow the Massachusetts Legislature to use to not go big on housing reform this session. It's been 5-years since the last major policy reform was passed in 2021.

THE RUMORS OF MASSACHUSETTS DEMISE HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED

"The very least we can do for families trying to achieve the American Dream is to allow homes to be built on smaller lots in the suburbs."

Great to join housing advocates, planners, elected officials, chambers of commerce & more to officially kick off the Legalize Starter Homes ballot campaign in MA. If approved by voters in November, it would allow single-family homes on 5,000+ sf lots with public water & sewer.

The damage from decades of failed housing policy in the Northeast is already here: slow population growth, a shrinking workforce, and families priced out. Every year we delay reform deepens the hollowing-out of our workforce and weakens our economic future.

first look at the new Kennedy Center designs

Bring back the rowhouses that once allowed middle-class families to thrive in New England.

Bring back the rowhouses that once allowed middle-class families to thrive in New England.

A fresh snowfall on Salem’s Chestnut Street underscores a quiet policy truth: ~5,000 sf lots create compact, walkable neighborhoods that are both beautiful and resilient. Small lots, human scale, lasting communities. 📍Salem, MA ☃️

*politicians explaining to Gen-Z how they can afford to buy a home*

“Affordable housing policies only work if housing actually gets built. With high construction costs, tighter financing, & higher rates, the rules are no longer aligned with market reality & that means less housing gets built, rents rise, & displacement increases.” @mattmahansj.bsky.social

“The housing crisis didn’t appear overnight, and it won’t be solved by a single law. Each of us has a role to play, and my office is committed to using every tool available to address it head on.” @massago.bsky.social www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/29/o...

165 Massachusetts communities did the hard work to pass modest zoning reforms under the 2021 MBTA Communities law. Today, AG Campbell brought suit against 9 who failed to comply; Dracut, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Holden, Marblehead, Middleton, Tewksbury, Wilmington & Winthrop.

Marblehead’s history shows 250 years of steady evolution. It was once a town flexible enough to meet the needs of it's ever changing population... ...until March 14, 1972, when it's modern zoning code was adopted and growth effectively stalled.

Canada’s 4th largest City, and Nation’s capital, passed a major suite of zoning reforms today including; 🚗eliminating most parking requirements, 🏠allowing 4-units on all serviced residential lots, 🏬up to 6-floors on busy streets, & 🥐accessory commercial uses allowed in more neighborhoods. 📍Ottawa

Canada’s 4th largest City, and Nation’s capital, passed a major suite of zoning reforms today including; 🚗eliminating most parking requirements, 🏠allowing 4-units on all serviced residential lots, 🏬up to 6-floors on busy streets, & 🥐accessory commercial uses allowed in more neighborhoods. 📍Ottawa

Cambridge City Council voted to pilot the full pedestrianization of a section of Brattle Street in Harvard Square. Noteworthy is the decision to forgo a $300,000+ study stating; "bringing in an outside group to tell us what we already know is not the best use of tax dollars."

"Because walkable urban places occupy only about 1.2% of the land in major U.S. metropolitan areas, they command a staggering price premium...this isn't just a matter of luxury; it is a direct result of artificial scarcity."

In Massachusetts, updating outdated, overly restrictive zoning can be a blood sport. Even modest reforms unleash fierce, outrageous opposition. This is the discourse debating a law that gave communities 5-years to make small zoning changes to allow more homes. 📍Marblehead

New research shows 1 in 5 car owners want to live car-free, and a majority are open to it. The issue isn’t demand... it’s policy. Outdated zoning rules make walkable neighborhoods scarce, expensive, and often illegal to build across most communities. www.remainplaces.com/post/the-gre...

New research shows 1 in 5 car owners want to live car-free, and a majority are open to it. The issue isn’t demand... it’s policy. Outdated zoning rules make walkable neighborhoods scarce, expensive, and often illegal to build across most communities. www.remainplaces.com/post/the-gre...

A fresh snowfall on Salem’s Chestnut Street underscores a quiet policy truth: ~5,000 sf lots create compact, walkable neighborhoods that are both beautiful and resilient. Small lots, human scale, lasting communities. 📍Salem, MA ☃️

“[Massachusetts] Voters soon face a choice: Should the next generation have a realistic path to homeownership in the communities where they work, grew up, or hope to stay, or should exclusionary lot-size rules continue to determine who belongs and who does not?”

A message from Boston

"Affordable housing developers paid California cities and counties more than $1.2 billion in “impact fees” over four years... that money could have paid for roughly 5,000 additional homes for low-income families." www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/a...

"Some towns have fought MBTA Communities, complaining that it would bulldoze local zoning powers and add too much housing too quickly, straining local infrastructure like roads and sewer systems. The reality has been far more measured..." www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/07/b...

"Some towns have fought MBTA Communities, complaining that it would bulldoze local zoning powers and add too much housing too quickly, straining local infrastructure like roads and sewer systems. The reality has been far more measured..." www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/07/b...

"The true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope." - @barackobama.bsky.social November 5, 2008 🇺🇸

“The federal government can’t just wave a magic wand & things will be more affordable, which is what these policies seem to be aimed at. This is an almost two-decade housing supply hole we have dug for ourselves, you don’t get out of it on an electoral timeline.” www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/20/b...

Copenhagen Rated The World's Most Liveable City [yet again] 🇩🇰 “Copenhagen has consistently put pedestrians, bikes and people at the centre of the city and it has paid off."

Euclidean zoning’s strict separation of uses produced downtowns with limited functional diversity, increasing vulnerability to economic and social shocks. Mixed-use development enhances adaptability, activity overlap, & long-term downtown resilience. www.universalhub.com/2026/11-stor...

Only 3% of land in Massachusetts allows a single-family home on a 10,000 sq ft lot or smaller. ...56% requires at least an acre (43,000 sq ft).

Marblehead will attempt to use a 32-acre portion of Tedesco Country Club to satisfy the entirety of their MBTA Communities multi-family zoning requirements. The 120-year old club has no plans to end operations and recently completed a brand new multi-million dollar clubhouse.

“Utah’s zoning rules are creating a housing shortage.” 🏘️ Multifamily housing is allowed on ~3% of residential land statewide. 🏡 ~70% of residential land statewide requires 43,000+ sq ft minimum lot sizes just to build a single-family home. 📍Utah

State legislature: cities have to plan for housing growth but we will let them decide where it goes. Local gov’t: ok we will rezone some land that we know will never actually get redeveloped. State: alright we will directly preempt your zoning. Local: why are you taking away our local control???

It is going to be wildly funny when this either fails or the country club sells out to a developer.

Whats funny is planners do this all the time in Seattle. They zone for “capacity” along sh*t roads like Hwy 99 that’s never going to get the investment and then turn it in saying “see, we did it”

This is "paper" compliance, as opposed to meaningful compliance with the MBTA-CA that might actually produce a unit of housing. Go get 'em, @massago.bsky.social!

Marblehead will attempt to use a 32-acre portion of Tedesco Country Club to satisfy the entirety of their MBTA Communities multi-family zoning requirements. The 120-year old club has no plans to end operations and recently completed a brand new multi-million dollar clubhouse.

when you go too hard at the Home Goods end of season sale

what the neighborhood association thinks “multi family housing” will bring

In Massachusetts, you can build a single-family home, by-right, on 96% of all residential land. A building with 4-units+ is allowed on just 3%.

In Massachusetts, you can build a single-family home, by-right, on 96% of all residential land. A building with 4-units+ is allowed on just 3%.