Boston City Councilors to Discuss Re-Legalizing Triple-Deckers
It’s been the darling of local architects and zoning wonks, but triple-deckers keep running into a major obstacle: They’re illegal to build in nearly two-thirds of Boston.
Triple-Deckers and Affordability Don’t Mix
Triple-decker construction may have a place in spurring housing production, but recent experiments in Boston and Somerville indicate only market-rate projects are financially feasible.
YIMBYs Should Fear Trojan Horse Accusations
If huge housing complexes next to transit hubs are allowed to become the de facto symbol of YIMBYism, the cause is all but doomed in our politically polarized country.
Ramping Up Housing Production Through Robotics
As a growing number of Massachusetts communities permit construction of small infill housing models, VC-backed Andover startup Reframe Robotics sees an opening to industrialize housing production.
Boston Sketches a Triple-Decker Comeback
Architectural avatars of efficient and livable middle-class housing, triple-deckers altered the landscape Massachusetts in the early 20th century. Over 100 years later, Massachusetts’ affordability crisis is prompting a fresh look at the form.
As Pipeline Slows, Boston Looks for Housing Stimulants
Legalize triple-deckers by-right in all neighborhoods? Allow taller buildings as bonuses for affordability? Eliminate on-site parking? Boston officials and housing advocates are taking a look at a variety of unorthodox ways to accelerate multifamily production.
Modular Microhousing Can Combat the Homelessness Crisis
“Housing First” is a proven strategy in the nationwide fight to solve the seemingly intractable problem of homelessness. But Massachusetts still has numerous hurdles in the way.
Train Lures Investors to the South Coast
Massachusetts’ South Coast will not see MBTA commuter rail service until the end of next year, but the train is already making waves in the region’s housing market.
This Month in History: Boston Suburbs Start to Ban Triple-Deckers
Supporters hailed the Tenement House Act of 1912 as a way to stop the spread of working-class triple-decker homes as new transportation options opened the suburbs to
Want to Solve the Housing Crisis? Upzone the Suburbs
A new Brookings-Boston Foundation report goes beyond bemoaning the sorry state of housing affordability in Boston and other similarly fast-growing cities around the country to propose a truly bold measure.
Triple-Deckers for the 21st Century
In Worcester, Civico Development has combined in-house architectural savvy with sustainability and a buy-hold strategy to offer “missing middle” rental homes.
Should Housing Advocates Look to the Suburbs?
Here’s a startling statistic that should be a cause...
New Housing Models for 21st-Century Bostonians
Taylor Cain, the new, 30-year-old director of Boston’s Housing Innovation Lab, sits at the head of a team piloting a range of ideas for how to meet the city’s huge housing challenges.
One Simple Change Could Fix the Housing Crisis
If the areas immediately surrounding Eastern Massachusetts’ commuter rail and subway stations were densified only slightly, we could solve the state’s housing crisis nearly twice over.
We Need Bold Leadership to Face Our Housing Crisis
It’s not clear that Boston’s leadership has yet to take into account how much of our city is at stake if we do not make bold changes in housing policy, now.
Worcester Will Help Developers Buy, Rehab Triple-Deckers
The city of Worcester has launched a new program aimed at helping what it terms “responsible” developers get streamlined access to capital to revitalize troubled small two- to four-unit properties throughout the city.
