Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley speaks at the May 5, 2022 launch of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's MetroCommon 2050 regional plan. Photo courtesy of the MAPC
A new plan intended to offer a guide for Greater Boston policymakers over the coming years says renter protections and aid for homebuilders both need to be boosted if the state is to become equitable, sustainable and prosperous.
MetroCommon 2050, created by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), was officially unveiled at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood last week. Boston Rep. Ayanna Pressley provided the keynote speech at the event.
“These last two years have shown us that our destinies are tied, and we don’t improve outcomes by doing what we’ve always done. We can, and we must, legislate equity, healing, and justice,” she said.
MAPC is the official regional planning body for 101 cities and towns in Greater Boston, but its reports and recommendations are only advisory under state law.
The body’s latest report contains a slew of recommendations across five broad areas – “Growth & Mobility,” “Homes for Everyone,” “Equity of Wealth & Health,” “Dynamic & Representative Government” and “Climate Change Adaptation & Resiliency” – representing the region’s greatest challenges for the years ahead.
“MetroCommon 2050 launches at a time when we face unprecedented challenges fueled by a devastating pandemic, increased political polarization, an urgent climate crisis, and a recognition of the impact racism has had on our past and present,” MAPC Executive Director Marc Draisen said in a statement. This plan acknowledges how these global, national, regional and local events affect us all, and looks to the future of Greater Boston with hope, knowing that, together, this region has the power and ability to bring about the change we desire.”
Among the plan’s recommendations on land use policy: Concentrate development along transit lines, legalize so-called “missing middle” small-scale apartment and condominium buildings by-right and offer more subsidies for private-sector housing construction.
The plan also calls for local-option municipal real estate transfer fees that can fund anti-displacement efforts and curb on “large and short-term increases in rent.”
