MARC DRAISEN
Collaboration needed
A poll released last week shows that people living in metro Boston are concerned about the cost of housing along with jobs, traffic and environmental protection.
The poll conducted by the University of Massachusetts for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council revealed that the top regional issue facing metro Boston today is the cost of housing.
When asked in an open-ended question to identify the most critical issue facing the region, 14 percent pointed to the cost of housing, making it the top regional issue, according to MAPC. Nearly 90 percent of the poll respondents said they supported the construction of new housing for working families in the region. Eight out of 10 said they favored locating new housing near jobs and in city and town centers rather than suburban subdivisions.
Other issues identified as critical concerns included transportation, environmental protection and education. This is the first time that housing topped the list of regional concerns, according to Marc Draisen, executive director of MAPC.
‘Regional Implications’
A similar poll was conducted two years ago. While housing and land use have been strictly viewed as local control issues in the past, this year’s poll results indicate that “people are much more willing to say we need region-wide action” on such issues, Draisen said.
Forty-seven percent of respondents supported regional action on housing, while 39 percent supported regional land-use planning. In the poll two years ago, only a quarter of the respondents favored regional action on those two issues.
“This poll shows that these issues [housing, land use] have regional implications and that cities and towns need to collaborate and cooperate in finding solutions,” Draisen said.
The poll also found continued support for regional action to create jobs and protect water supplies. The poll results were released at a Boston College Citizens Seminar, which was held last Thursday at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
The seminar also highlighted findings of an MAPC initiative designed to reveal what the region’s cities and towns envision for the future. As part of a yearlong project, MAPC organized meetings throughout the region to find out what people want for the future of the region. Over 1,000 people attended the meetings, and another 500 completed a survey distributed at community meetings and business events, and through local newspapers.
Themes arising from the meetings included the need for more diverse housing choices, revitalization of town centers and urban neighborhoods and improved public transportation in cities and new transit services in suburbs.
Aglaia Pikounis may be reached at apikounis@thewarrengroup.com.
