Fuller acknowledges Newton’s ‘poor grades on a housing report card’

by | Jul 30, 2019 | Affordable housing, housing, Mayor Fuller | 15 comments

This just in from Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s weekly email newsletter …

The Boston Foundation recently released its Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2019 looking at housing affordability and housing production in the 147 cities and towns in the five counties surrounding Boston.

We’re expensive. More specifically, the Report found that metro-Boston, which includes Newton, is one of the nation’s most expensive places to buy (4th in the U.S.) or rent (3rd in the U.S.). The authors highlighted that the limited supply of housing stock and high cost contributes to persistent racial segregation.

The Report evaluated each city and town. Newton had low scores except for

Globe: 15 communities help address housing crisis (spoiler: Newton not on list)

by | Jul 28, 2019 | Affordable housing, economic development, housing | 51 comments

From Sunday’s Boston Globe…

A recent report highlighting the need for more local housing production found that from 2013 to 2017, 15 municipalities issued more than half the building permits in the state. Boston led the way, followed by Cambridge, Plymouth, Watertown, Everett, Weymouth, Somerville, Burlington, Chelsea, Framingham, Hopkinton, Middleborough, Quincy, Arlington, and Canton.

and here’s a key quote:

The recent report “demonstrates the power that local communities have to