Our secretive state government | Fan of Contrarian Boston? Get your paid subscription now! | 2024 rent control showdown | Wu’s pyrrhic victory | Local news revival in Brookline | News tips? Story ideas? Email us at sbvanvoorhis@hotmail.com Calamity ahead? Wu touts rent control vote even as she ignores big drop in residential construction
Thanks for your take here. Agreed that people from all over the world come to live in Boston, which is why new supply is so crucial to prevent an even greater run on older properties. But I also think you have hit a key point: Boston can't do this alone. There needs to be statewide zoning reform of the type California has been forced to adopt. We are just a decade behind, if that.
I support Mayor Wu’s efforts to bring rent control back. If we leave it up to the market, I don’t care how much we build, it will be expensive, because the “supply” of potential Boston residents is so large—ppl come from all over the world to live in Boston, and Mass. That’s why it’s so pricey, bc demand is so high. If we actually care about affordable housing, the government has to step in and that’s what she’s doing. I’d also like to see a financial penalty for all the vacant luxury units that are also constricting supply of housing.
Great point - and not just in Boston. More than a few suburban towns have downtowns with at last one or two empty or half empty buildings.
Thanks for your take here. Agreed that people from all over the world come to live in Boston, which is why new supply is so crucial to prevent an even greater run on older properties. But I also think you have hit a key point: Boston can't do this alone. There needs to be statewide zoning reform of the type California has been forced to adopt. We are just a decade behind, if that.
If housing is needed then let’s look at structures already built.
I support Mayor Wu’s efforts to bring rent control back. If we leave it up to the market, I don’t care how much we build, it will be expensive, because the “supply” of potential Boston residents is so large—ppl come from all over the world to live in Boston, and Mass. That’s why it’s so pricey, bc demand is so high. If we actually care about affordable housing, the government has to step in and that’s what she’s doing. I’d also like to see a financial penalty for all the vacant luxury units that are also constricting supply of housing.