Thursday, Feb 27th from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, Temple Shalom in Newton, Room 101

Join the Temple Shalom Tzedek (Justice) team for a discussion on Affordable Housing in our community.   

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) projects that Massachusetts needs to produce 500,000 housing units between 2010 and 2040 to maintain existing levels of employment without accommodating any significant job growth. Two-thirds of that projected housing demand is for multifamily homes, much of it in metro Boston’s inner core and in close suburbs with good access to jobs and transportation. 

Lower income people are harmed the most. When housing supply is artificially constrained by zoning and other land use regulations it drives up rents and home prices across the entire housing market. While everyone is affected by increased housing costs, those increases are much more harmful to lower income households who pay the highest percentage of their income on housing.

(Source:  MHP Center for Housing Data, https://www.mhp.net/about-us/data#qa)

At this event, local experts and religious leaders will provide insight into the current housing crisis and dialogue on affordable housing.   Reverend Devlin Scott and Rabbi Laura Abrasley will introduce the topics.   Lizbeth Heyer,  Chief of Real Estate & Innovation at Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly,  and formerly an Associate Director at the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development will provide background into the housing crisis in the Greater Boston area.  Judy Jacobson and colleagues from Engine 6 will provide a deeper understanding of how Newton is working to address the housing situation, and finally Councilor Susan Albright will lead a discussion on some of the projects that are coming to Newton in support of increasing our housing supply.

This will be an informative dialogue.  Free and open to the community.