Editor’s note: We’ve asked all 12 candidates for mayor of Boston various questions about housing and development. We’ll be running their answers to various questions over the next several weeks. The following candidates have not responded to our questions: John F. Barros, Charles L. Clemons Jr., Rob Consalvo, Martin J. Walsh, David James Wyatt and Charles Yancey.

This week’s question: Mayor Tom Menino has made it a priority to increase the amount of housing in Boston. Is 30,000 units by 2020 too high or too low? Is that a good goal for Boston?

Felix Arroyo

In the next 10 years, Boston will need at least 30,000 new housing units just to accommodate new growth. As mayor, my goal will be to make sure that all those who call Boston home are able to stay here and afford a place to live. I will also implement legislation that I authored called "Invest in Boston" to ensure that we only do business with banks that are lending to small businesses, to qualified homebuyers, to development projects, and that are helping solve our foreclosure crisis. By asking these questions, we will help create jobs, promote home ownership, and create more stable communities.

Dan Conley

It is an aggressive but, I believe, attainable goal. That said, it’s estimated that the Boston region will require much more than even this to keep pace with rising demand. As Mayor Menino has often said, Boston can be a leader but it shouldn’t be a loner when it comes to creating more housing and more affordable housing. This means we need to be looking at all manner of new housing opportunities, but also working the state and federal partners and regional neighbors to develop a strategy of shared responsibilities.

John Connolly

We need to set bold goals for housing, so I was glad to see the mayor call for 30,000 new units by 2020. When we don’t create enough new housing to meet the demand, then prices go up and we seriously constrain our economy and our potential for jobs growth. But this is not just about the number of units, it’s also about the type of units. We need to build more three-plus-bedroom units for families and more mixed-income housing near transit stations.

Charlotte Golar Richie

In regards to affordable housing, I think Boston has to set its sights and goals high if we are to achieve any meaningful impact. Too many of our young people and families, who are the building blocks of the city’s future, find themselves priced out of the market and are forced to look beyond Boston for their housing. I have already used my previous positions in the state Legislature, where I obtained passage of a major housing bond bill, and at DND where I advocated for housing projects that supports our neediest residents. In the end, we must strive to provide adequate and affordable housing to all our residents.

Mike Ross

It’s a good start, but we’ll likely need to build more housing at a faster rate. For the first time in decades, people are moving back into the city. We need to make sure they have places to live, and that we keep the cost of housing under control. Increasing Boston’s housing stock will create room for new college graduates, an expanding workforce, and help make it more affordable for lifelong Bostonians to stay in the city they love.

Bill Walczak

I’m not ready to agree to a set number as a goal today. I want to step back and, with state government, other Greater Boston municipalities and the regional planning agency, assess the housing needs of the region. That assessment will also include identification of desirable housing locations regionally, particularly near public transit. I would then agree to setting specific housing goals in Boston.