OCTOBER 6, 2021 ∙ PRESS RELEASE
Boston, MA — Gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen today announced a Housing Agenda to expand access to housing across the Commonwealth. Allen called for an approach to housing that prioritizes affordable housing, support for tenants’ rights, support for first-time homeowners, ending housing insecurity and the creation of a culture of beauty and sustainability in density. You can view the whole agenda here.
Massachusetts is the third-most-expensive housing market in the country and has the ninth-highest rate of unhoused individuals in the country. Renters and homeowners alike are cost-burdened at unacceptably high levels. Family homelessness is at an all-time high with more than 4,000 families, and approximately 8,000 kids, in shelters. Young people are leaving because they can’t afford housing and gateway cities are experiencing crisis levels of eviction, hitting communities of color especially hard.
Allen’s Housing Agenda emphasizes key points she will take on as Governor to address these problems, including:
- Investing in municipal and regional strategic planning in support of zoning reform to achieve abundant, affordable housing across the Commonwealth;
- Supporting tenants and first time homeowners through down payment assistance programs, state rental assistance programs, and protection of tenants’ rights, for instance right to counsel;
- Tackling housing insecurity for those most in need, particularly housing-insecure youth and families through expanding and improving housing first programs;
- Addressing the issue of climate change by accelerating investments to move our homes off their reliance on fossil fuels and sponsoring a “Beauty in Density” competition to incentivize innovative designs for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and Triple-Deckers that meet high social, aesthetic, and environmental standards to encourage embracing density.
“Access to housing is a basic human need and the foundation for personal dignity, healthy democracy, and a dynamic, inclusive economy. In every part of our Commonwealth, we face an epidemic of housing insecurity: one that cuts across race, class, age, and place,” said gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen. “As I’ve traveled across Massachusetts listening to the concerns of our fellow citizens, no worry has been voiced more frequently than the cost of housing. The stories and personal experiences I’ve heard are at the center of our One Commonwealth Agenda and have led to this reimagining housing agenda that will achieve an abundant supply of accessible, affordable, and stable housing throughout Massachusetts.”