Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
A new poll commissioned by a housing advocacy group says majorities of Boston residents don’t think Mayor Michelle Wu is doing enough to bring down the cost of housing.
The survey found 56 percent of residents strongly agree, and another 25 percent of residents somewhat agree with the idea that Wu and other city leaders need to allow more homes to be built in the city to address housing shortages.
The respected MassINC Polling Group surveyed 550 city residents Aug. 12-28 via online survey panel, text message, and live telephone interviews in English and Spanish. The poll was paid for by Abundant Housing Massachusetts.
“The results of this poll show just how much residents agree that Boston has become far too expensive for everyone who lives in the city. In our political environment, it is almost impossible to find this much strong agreement on any given issue, but more than 8 out of 10 residents say city officials need to act now to address this crisis,” AHMA Executive Director Jesse Kanson-Benanav said in a statement.
Residents who strongly support legalizing more housing construction were the majority in every part of the city except for the Jamaica Plain/West Roxbury/Roslindale area, where they represented 46 percent of respondents. However, residents who either strongly or somewhat supported the legalization of more housing construction represented supermajorities in all areas. The largest share of residents who strongly supported the idea were found in the South End/South Boston and the Seaport District (64 percent) and in Allston-Brighton, the Fenway, Longwood and Mission Hill (62 percent).
Even in the city’s lowest-density neighborhood – the Jamaica Plain/West Roxbury/Roslindale area – only 28 percent said the city “should prioritize protecting the character of neighborhoods from change” with similarly low shares of respondents taking that position in the other areas surveyed.
6- and 12-Story Legalization Supported
Support for housing construction grew stronger as respondents moved down the income ladder, with 78 percent of those making over $150,000 a year strongly or somewhat supporting the idea compared to 82 percent of those making between $75,000 and $149,000 and 84 percent of those making less than $75,000. Eight-four percent of homeowners and 78 percent of renters either strongly or somewhat supported more housing.
“Like in the statewide poll, we’re seeing Boston residents prioritize building more housing over neighborhood concerns that often hold up new housing projects. This poll shows that the folks who show up to oppose new housing projects are not representative of all residents,” MassINC Polling Group Vice President Rich Parr said in a statement provided by AHMA.
The poll also tested six separate policy ideas that other cities have embraced, like parking reform and legalizing the construction of 6-story residential buildings anywhere in the city, as the city of Cambridge did earlier this year.
Residents were generally supportive of the two highest-impact ideas – the city-wide legalization of 6-story buildings and legalizing 12-story buildings by MBTA train stations – but were less certain in their positions.
The poll found 40 percent strongly backed the 6-story legalization, and another 37 percent were somewhat in support, with only 18 percent opposed and another 4 percent unsure.
Only 39 percent strongly supported the 12-story idea, plus another 32 percent that somewhat supported it, followed by 23 percent who opposed it and 6 percent who were unsure.
Both ideas commanded supermajority support in every neighborhood grouping in the survey.
Image courtesy of Abundant Housing MA
City’s Upzonings Move Slowly
Wu recently won a major victory in securing Boston Planning & Development Agency board approval for an upzoning that could add new residential skyscrapers in parts of the Financial District and Downtown Crossing. That measure heads to the city Zoning Commission for final approval later this month.
And she secured approval for an upzoning in the commercial heart of her home neighborhood of Roslindale in April that’s already beginning to generate development proposals.
But two of her other upzoning initiatives are proceeding slowly. Wu’s signature “Squares + Streets” initiative, focused on adding density to neighborhood nodes, has only produced one upzoning plan – covering Roslindale – since it was launched in January 2024.
The Planning Department has taken almost a year to process resident feedback to draft zoning for Hyde Park’s Cleary Square, introduced in fall 2024, and expects to come back with a new plan by the end of the year.
Planning for the Codman Square area in Dorchester, which officials had originally slated to be next in line, was put on hold until 2026. A fourth planning exercise, covering Fields Corner in Dorchester, is still underway.
And a citywide upzoning process, called the “Neighborhood Housing Zoning” initiative, has only produced a set of rules legalizing accessory dwelling units citywide, albeit in a much more restrictive form than a recent state law that exempted Boston, since launching in March 2024. The initiative’s next phase produce recommendations early next year, with the goal of liberalizing zoning in Roslindale, West Roxbury, and Hyde Park enough for homeowners won’t have to go through a laborious Zoning Board of Appeal process to add an accessory dwelling unit or additions.
Josh Kraft, Wu’s former opponent in this fall’s citywide election, had criticized her for “not listening” to residents when planning initiatives like rezonings and adding bike lanes. But Wu soundly trounced Kraft in a preliminary election last month, forcing him to pull out of the race.
City councilors last month expressed enthusiasm for re-legalizing triple-deckers in parts of the city, but the lead sponsor of a hearing indented to investigate the idea was hesitant to commit to sweeping, citywide legalization in an interview with Banker & Tradesman.
Wu administration spokespeople did not return a request for comment as of publication time, but touted the mayor’s record on housing production in a statement to the Boston Globe.
“Over the last three years, our administration has built more affordable housing than in a generation, made city land free for developers to keep residents and families in their homes and connected to opportunity, and begun streamlining permitting processes and updating our zoning code for more clarity and predictability,” the statement said. “As the pressure on families continues to rise amid unpredictable federal policies, the City will continue to build on our progress through innovative solutions to address the regional housing crisis and ensure Boston is a home for everyone.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with information from the Boston Planning Department on the Cleary Square and Neighborhood Housing zoning processes.
