9 Comments

1. 

   Pat Irwin on November 1, 2019 at 8:11 pm

   Thank you, Amy, for posting this! We’re not the only community struggling with this issue :/

2. 

   Greg Reibman on November 1, 2019 at 8:39 pm

   Housing is no doubt a big issue, it certainly matters a lot to me.

   But every candidate I’ve spoken to tells me it’s just one of many issues voters talk about when knocking on doors.

   And of course it’s a big issue in many communities. We have a regional housing crisis that will require action by many communities to resolve.

3. 

   Jane Frantz on November 1, 2019 at 9:38 pm

   Agree with Greg’s comment. My voting decisions aren’t ever based on one issue.

4. 

   Lisa on November 2, 2019 at 12:22 am

   I certainly relate to this statement

   “At some point, this overdevelopment negatively impacts the quality of life for our residents,” Rizzo said. “Revere doesn’t have an obligation to build housing for everyone who wants to live here.”

5. 

   Fignewtonville on November 2, 2019 at 10:27 am

   Yep. We have a state wide housing crisis. No shock there.

   Seems like lots of communities are struggling with the last actor problem. Meaning ideally they want other communities to fix the problem. Let that other town build more housing. Let that other city build density by their transportation nodes.

   But what that article shows is that every community, rich or poor, struggles with these questions. That every community is concerned about traffic.

   That article is a pretty good part of why 40b exists in the first place. Because the state had to step in.

   The demand is here. We have a great state with good jobs. We have health care. Our sports teams win and we have 4 seasons. And so on…

   So absent new building of some sort, prices for homes and rents will keep rising. Folks will drive longer for jobs. Again this is a wider community issue.

   I don’t think Newton can solve this on its own. Nor should it, that wouldn’t be fair. But we should do our part. And the commonwealth should insist on it as well.

   Newton will still be newton with 10% affordability. Newton will still be newton with 5 story building built up in our village centers. We might even learn to love the restaurants and shops.

   As for the vote, I believe in the above but I vote on lots of issues. Folks on either side who are one issue candidates or true believers aren’t good city leaders for me. I like compromise, I like attempts to solve complex problems in unique ways, I like cookies.

   Also, Amy I appreciate the article but you could also give us your opinion… or have you not decided to run for mayor again? ;)

6. 

   Jack Prior on November 2, 2019 at 10:54 am

   People are using the word “solve” quite a bit here. Our regional housing problem can’t be solved in a sense. One reason is Amazon. Not the deliveries, but the HQ2. Despite the Seattle’s best efforts to address its housing and traffic issues, Amazon has outgrown the city, so it has to expand elsewhere.

   Boston’s housing demand is impacted by decisions companies make with regard to where they locate, and that’s significantly impacted by traffic and housing prices. Put a huge dent in the housing crisis and traffic and, boom, Boston builds a new seaport. Put a huge dent in traffic and housing, and boom, a Boston GE Headquarters or Amazon HQ2 looks good to decision makers in Boston rather than elsewhere in the USA, with 50,000 more jobs and 100,000’s more residents added to the region. At some point key companies need to locate to in parts of the country that desperately need the stimulus.

   Now we absolutely should endeavor to do our best for our local economy, and for local employment opportunities, but this will not be “solved”. Furthermore Newton’s current environment adds significantly to the region’s competitiveness in attracting companies and their workforce by providing quality education, short commutes, grassy backyards, green space, village life, etc, and its ongoing transformation has to be thoughtful in retaining that.

7. 

   Peter Kay on November 2, 2019 at 11:04 am

   @Jack Prior – you are 100% correct but I fear the “build at all costs” crowd will avoid your comment and start a new thread / blog completely ignoring these truisms.

8. 

   Julia Malakie on November 2, 2019 at 11:55 am

   OMG, @Peter Kay, that’s exactly what they did! A new thread with the same link to the editorial.

   @Jack Prior described perfectly how growth feeds on itself and leads to more growth. We saw that with Amazon HQ2. It’s like watching that early video game, SimCity.

   Another term you can use to describe the phenomenon is “induced demand,” which in my observation is just as applicable to adding housing units as it is to adding lanes to highways.

9. 

   Ted on November 2, 2019 at 12:41 pm

   So what are the progressive plans for making Newton (and Boston) less attractive for people to want to live here? Because until that happens (and it won’t anytime soon) this issue won’t go away.