Big changes in Zoning coming to our Neighborhoods
Squares + Streets (Article 26) is a new planning and zoning initiative that will focus on housing, public space, small businesses, art and culture, and transportation in neighborhood centers and along main streets throughout Boston.
Codman Square + Four Corners, located along Washington Street in Dorchester are among the first areas where this initiative is being planned. The plan, as detailed on the City of Boston's planning website, intends to tackle community needs within a 6–9 month timeframe, responding to the housing crisis and aiming to reduce participation barriers. It proposes to update zoning, preserve affordable spaces, improve transportation, enhance climate resilience, and promote community identity.
The Codman Square + Four Corners plan aims to create a vision for public investment and growth in the area's central commercial blocks and transit assets. According to information on the City of Boston's planning website, the process involves community engagement, allowing residents, workers, and visitors to participate in shaping the area's future.
Action for Equity has raised concerns about the impact of the Squares + Streets initiative on our neighborhoods. The type of zoning being used is called form-based zoning. Studies indicate that form-based zoning can cause displacement without proper protections. The plan focuses on increasing density by allowing buildings up to six stories high in an already densely populated area. According to staff at the Boston Planning & Development Agency, the proposed affordable housing would start at 60% AMI (income of a single person at 60% AMI according to the city of Boston is 68,580) , excluding lower-income individuals and families and possibly raising rent prices. The average median income for a single person in Dorchester last recorded in 2017 is 49,662. This could lead to significant displacement. Additionally, new developments have lacked family units, which are already scarce in the city. Increased density does not guarantee more diverse businesses and could exacerbate existing traffic problems on streets that have one & two travel lanes such as a lot of the ones in Dorchester. There are also concerns about how increased density will affect infrastructure, including emergency services such as police, fire, and ambulance response times. We will provide more information on this initiative as the plan unfolds. Stay tuned.
Codman Square + Four Corners, located along Washington Street in Dorchester are among the first areas where this initiative is being planned. The plan, as detailed on the City of Boston's planning website, intends to tackle community needs within a 6–9 month timeframe, responding to the housing crisis and aiming to reduce participation barriers. It proposes to update zoning, preserve affordable spaces, improve transportation, enhance climate resilience, and promote community identity.
The Codman Square + Four Corners plan aims to create a vision for public investment and growth in the area's central commercial blocks and transit assets. According to information on the City of Boston's planning website, the process involves community engagement, allowing residents, workers, and visitors to participate in shaping the area's future.
Action for Equity has raised concerns about the impact of the Squares + Streets initiative on our neighborhoods. The type of zoning being used is called form-based zoning. Studies indicate that form-based zoning can cause displacement without proper protections. The plan focuses on increasing density by allowing buildings up to six stories high in an already densely populated area. According to staff at the Boston Planning & Development Agency, the proposed affordable housing would start at 60% AMI (income of a single person at 60% AMI according to the city of Boston is 68,580) , excluding lower-income individuals and families and possibly raising rent prices. The average median income for a single person in Dorchester last recorded in 2017 is 49,662. This could lead to significant displacement. Additionally, new developments have lacked family units, which are already scarce in the city. Increased density does not guarantee more diverse businesses and could exacerbate existing traffic problems on streets that have one & two travel lanes such as a lot of the ones in Dorchester. There are also concerns about how increased density will affect infrastructure, including emergency services such as police, fire, and ambulance response times. We will provide more information on this initiative as the plan unfolds. Stay tuned.
Action for Equity, Boston Tenant Coalition, and other member organizations are leading the way to higher IDP requirements in Boston
Coalition for A Truly Affordable Boston (CTAB) is a broad based coalition of grassroots, community, homeless and CDC working together to improve the City’s Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP). There are about 12-15 active groups and about 10 others that have supported new demands. The Boston Tenant Coalition anchors CTAB.
Learn more at: https://www.affordableboston.org/
Most Active Groups:
- Action for Equity
- Allston Brighton CDC
- Boston Tenant Coalition
- Chinese Progressive Association
- Dot Not 4 Sale
- Fenway CDC
- GBLS
- Greater Bowdoin Geneva Neighborhood Association
- Homes for Families
- JPNDC
- Keep it 100% for Real Affordability and Racial Justice
- MAHA
- Mass Alliance for HUD Tenants
- Reclaim Roxbury
- RISE
- Sierra Club
Make 1/3 of New Housing Truly Affordable
On Monday, August 19th over 1,000 Boston residents signed postcards to Mayor Walsh asking to MAKE THE IDP MATCH COMMUNITY NEEDS. A broad coalition is demanding that the Inclusionary Development Policy be changed so that 1/3 of new housing is Truly Affordable, at 30-70% AMI for rental units (40% AMI on average) and 50-100% for ownership units.
Over 100 Dorchester residents joined Dot Not for Sale, New England United for Justice, Boston Tenant Union, Asian American Resource Workshop, Action for Equity, and others both to listen to BPDA Housing Policy Manager Tim Davis and to tell the city our point of view. Residents were clear—Boston needs affordable housing!
Over 100 Dorchester residents joined Dot Not for Sale, New England United for Justice, Boston Tenant Union, Asian American Resource Workshop, Action for Equity, and others both to listen to BPDA Housing Policy Manager Tim Davis and to tell the city our point of view. Residents were clear—Boston needs affordable housing!
