Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition

Over the past several decades, I have worked closely with members of our State and Congressional delegation, and the Governor’s administration to develop policies and pass legislation that positively impacts Boston. As Mayor, I will prioritize expanding, improving, and investing in climate resilience measures for Boston’s public transit network. We must be shovel-ready to partner with the Federal infrastructure program. Top transit priorities will be expansion and improvement of bus rapid transit and rail, including the Fairmount Line. Improving transit options, especially in communities of color, is essential to an equitable and robust recovery. I will work with MassDOT on continual improvements to MBTA to make sure public transit is accessible from all neighborhoods of Boston. I will also continue to support, as I did while at City Hall, legislative efforts that guarantee a right to counsel for people at risk of eviction, and establish a tenant’s right to purchase at fair market value any property in which they reside being offered for sale. I will continue to work with the State to enhance Community Choice Electricity and update the stretch code for more net-zero buildings.

We need a coordinated and targeted strategy at the state, local, and federal level to combat the effects of climate change that we are seeing today - partnering with advocacy groups, elected officials, and residents that are impacted the most by these issues. As Mayor, I will act with urgency and will work with state leaders to make local buses free and electrify our bus fleet as we know transportation is the biggest polluter in the Commonwealth. I will also champion a partnership with state leaders to create bold climate initiatives, including passing the Green Future Act to ensure more funding is available for the City to reach our climate action goals. Our City is in the midst of a housing crisis and I will use my platform as Mayor to convene local, state and federal leaders to reimagine housing in the Greater Boston area, creating more affordable housing opportunities and making it easier to build affordable, community-led projects.

As Mayor, I will leverage my strong, existing partnerships at the State House to fight for state legislation to make the City of Boston’s procurement process more equitable giving women and minority-owned businesses the opportunity to compete for more contracts, advocate for progressive transportation and housing funding solutions, and partner with stakeholders at the state level to enact a regional response to the climate crisis.

I will also continue advocating for a Boston Mayor appointed seat on the MBTA Fiscal & Management Control Board to get Boston a much deserved seat at the decision making table when it comes to MBTA reforms, planning and service delivery.

We need to make sure that our concerns as a city are heard at the state and federal level. Specifically, we need to make sure that Boston gets its fair share of funding for all programs disbursed by the state. Specifically, I want to work with the state to provide a long-term solution for access to the Boston Long Island recovery center. This will help us in a multitude of ways, which include getting people access to the recovery options they need, which will in turn put them in a better place improve their quality of life.

On the federal level, we have received a large amount of federal relief funding, and I look forward to working with city government to make sure that this funding is distributed equitably throughout our city so that it goes toward the people and projects who most need the help. I look forward to working with Boston’s congressional delegation on future projects and federal funding support from the city.

It is my fervent desire to be receptive to the citizens' needs, and to maintain an open dialogue with the statewide delegation. My campaign must always put the people of Boston first, and to do what is necessary to ensure that their voices are heard.

As Mayor, I will work with Boston’s state delegation to match additional funds for projects of shared interest, such as state-subsidized public housing, transportation grants that enable smarter development, and broadband improvements for affordable housing. I will continue to advocate alongside transit, climate and racial justice activists for a fare-free MBTA, beginning with fare-free bus. Our years of collective work in coalition with elected officials and residents across Boston and neighboring communities calling on the MBTA to stop fare hikes and transition to fare-free transit has resulted in a bill this legislative session calling for fare-free bus.

I will also work with shelters and state agencies to expand emergency housing options for communities impacted by domestic and community violence so that residents have the support they need to leave housing that is unsafe. And I will push the state and federal government to support homeownership programs focusing on first-time homebuyers and historically marginalized communities.

As Mayor, I will build consensus because these three policy areas are interconnected and critical to Boston’s future. I will accelerate carbon reduction by establishing clear goals and timelines to cut emissions in our largest buildings and transit sector. I will strengthen the emissions standards of all new development, and provide more resources to decarbonize. I will advance priorities in Go Boston 2030 for sustainable and active transit, expand bike lane network and dedicated bus lanes, and invest in measures that will make Boston’s neighborhoods more walkable and accessible for all.

Our communities of color are systematically denied access to reliable transportation, affordable housing, and are disproportionately affected by climate change. We need to create a City Hall that works for everyone and addresses the inequities that plague our systems, especially when it comes to transportation, housing, and climate justice. As Mayor, I will foster a cabinet that is grounded in collaboration and equity, assigning a dedicated staff member who reports directly to the mayor to oversee coordination among departments and implement anti-racist and equity trainings to serve all.

Boston’s transportation, housing, and climate issues can only be solved through a coordinated and intersectional effort. If elected, I will create a new Transportation Office of Information & Innovation to serve as a one-stop shop on current data to make informed policy decisions about the intersection of transportation, housing and climate. I will fight for greener development and work with every city department to build, remodel, and invest in energy efficient infrastructure, facilities and motor vehicles. I will also prioritize growing our neighborhoods around public transportation and jobs.

All of these issues are intertwined together in a difficult web. A person needs reliable access to transportation to get access to jobs which will pay them enough to provide for housing and the rest of their household expenses. Meanwhile, climate change adds the complication of preparing these solutions to be resilient for the future. I look forward to working on projects such as affordable housing built for climate resiliency, and more energy efficient and reliable public transportation as some of the core solutions to these problems.

Being that I strive to be a voice of the people of the City of Boston, we must work together as a team. The people come first.

Safe, reliable, affordable, and sustainable transportation and housing are the foundation for shared prosperity and health and are core to the fight for climate justice. Shaping development across the city for equity and resiliency is one of the most powerful roles of city government. We can achieve this through comprehensive planning and responsive zoning with an integrated approach to transportation and housing. Boston’s development decisions are based on special approvals and exceptions after a complex and opaque public process.

As mayor, I will expand Boston’s public and active transit network to increase bus service and bus rapid transit, particularly in communities of color. We must start with broad community outreach and engagement, to make sure we are targeting the neighborhoods in transportation desserts and those with long existing bus routes. In order to accelerate bus service, I will increase the number of bus-only lanes throughout the city, including expanding infrastructure and resources for bus rapid transit. I will prioritize communities of color to pilot bus rapid transit routes, because they currently have significantly longer commutes compared to more affluent neighborhoods. As we develop this expansion plan, we must also determine the increased personnel needed to implement.

As Mayor, I will work with state and local leaders to eliminate bus fares and create a more equitable transportation system in the city. I will expand dedicated bus lanes and signal prioritization to make commutes shorter and more reliable, while investing in staff capacity and capital projects to quickly implement bus-only lanes, improve & expand bus shelters, and repair and maintain sidewalks so they are safer for all users. I will also electrify our bus and trolley fleet to convert all bus routes to battery powered buses and electric/battery-powered trolleybuses that will benefit riders with greater bus reliability, improve air quality and reduce emissions in communities who face higher levels of asthma due to poor air quality. Capitalizing on the rapid improvements in battery operated buses, I will ensure that Bostonians benefit from the electric bus pilot projects the MBTA pursues while pushing for more rapid acceleration of clean transportation options across the public transportation spectrum, including the City and the Boston Public Schools fleet.

As Mayor, I will make transit improvements that put people first, investing in infrastructure that prioritizes vulnerable road users such as cross walks, intersections, bike lanes, and bus lanes. I will also make sure that we are centering our transportation policies around equity and justice by expanding bus lanes to improve these systems which in turn can strengthen our economy, support our communities, and unlock new opportunities for Boston residents and our city as a whole.

We need to continue to make Boston a multi-modal transportation city, where people are able to reliably commute through the public transportation, bicycles, or other means of transportation. That is why I was so excited to recently announce a $500,000 pilot program to provide free fares on the Route 28 bus. Some of the other projects I secured funding for in my budget include funding to renovate and redesign intersections and key corridors to include bus and bike lanes, and build our city street system to be more prepared for the future.

Infrastructure is necessary to make sure that travel is made safe and efficient. As mayor of the City of Boston, I will work with the offices necessary to improving and maintaining safety and efficiency.

Boston currently has the worst traffic in the country, and Black bus riders spend 64 more hours on average each year on stalled buses than white riders. The City can begin to address this inequality by accelerating the creation of dedicated bus lanes and transit signal priority to speed up bus service. As an At-Large City Councilor, I have pushed hard for City investments in dedicated bus lanes, including the one which began as a pilot between Roslindale Square and Forest Hills and is now permanent. Fare-free service will boost ridership and also reduce delays, passengers can board more quickly and through both front and back doors when fare collection is eliminated, reducing dwell time and the harmful local pollutants that come with it. We’ll also push the state for more urgent service improvements.

As the largest city, economic engine, and biggest job creator in the Commonwealth, the City of Boston absolutely needs to have a seat at the table when it comes to the MBTA. During the work week Boston's population doubles in size due to individuals from the Greater Boston area and beyond commuting into the City for jobs, school, and more. Not only do we shoulder the burden of increased traffic, we are also directly impacted by decaying and failing transit infrastructure that impacts our traffic flow, air quality, economic benefits, and quality of life. We also have a larger population of low-income residents, seniors, LOTE residents, and residents with disabilities. The City of Boston must have a voice at the table to advocate for our unique needs. A new governance board must be established, and should include transit experts, public policy makers, municipalities, and residents.

As Mayor, I will advocate for a new governance board much like the FMCB and fight for the City of Boston to have a substantial voice on the board centered on delivering equitable transportation investments in Boston to expand service and improve its capital equipment and infrastructure. As the center of the New England economy, Boston needs its own representation in directing the state’s transportation systems.

As Mayor, I’ll continue advocating for a mayor appointed seat on the MBTA Fiscal & Management Control Board so our City has a say when it comes to transit reforms, planning, and service delivery. But even then - that’s only one vote out of the five seats on the Board. We must leverage federal, regional, and state partnerships across the board to secure progressive transit solutions and direct funding directly to cities. The next mayor’s transportation policy must be centered around equity and justice. I’m committed to increasing access to CharlieCards, exploring fare-free bus routes, advocating for additional service on the Fairmount Line, connecting essential workers, students, and seniors to existing programs for free or reduced transit fares, and mitigating the climate crisis through public transit.

The city of Boston needs to have more authority over the development of our public transportation system. As more and more people continue to move to our city, we need to make sure that our transportation infrastructure is able to grow in a pattern which matches the needs and locations of population centers, particularly those who are reliant on public transportation. We need to make sure that the MBTA will continue to be accountable to the residents of Boston, and that our needs are the first area of consideration for these decisions.

I will work with and support experts in this area to develop a board that best suits the needs of Boston.

Yes, I’ve been advocating for this for years (see enclosed op-ed). Every municipality in the MBTA’s service area has a role to play in driving transit access and equity. Yet we are one of the only major transit systems in the US where municipalities have no role in decision-making. We need the voices of Bostonians to be represented in the decisions that impact our lives and the health of our communities. From designating bus-only lanes to implementing transit signal priority, the MBTA and the City must work together like never before to unclog roads and keep riders moving — for the health of the entire region. We need a T governance structure capable of responding to the depth of our regional transportation crisis while tearing down silos that keep municipal leaders and state officials from working together with urgency to achieve transit, climate, racial, and economic justice. Along with MassDOT board members, the new oversight board should include a rider representative, a permanent seat for the City of Boston, a rotating seat for municipalities in the T’s inner core service area, and a rotating seat to represent communities served by commuter rail.

We are at a unique moment in history where we must be ready to leverage Federal Infrastructure Plan stimulus funds to implement our highest priority transit and climate initiatives. As Mayor, I will work closely with the Federal government and the Commonwealth to be shovel-ready and direct resources to fully fund the establishment of neighborhood mobility hubs, make the city safer and more accessible for cyclists, and make sure more Bostonians are connected and able to easily travel to job centers. This partnership and additional financial resources will also help to implement Vision Zero recommendations, including more protected bike lanes, along with pedestrian-focused safety improvements, on a quicker timeline. And because all transit investments must be climate resilient, the establishment and growth of my proposed Green Jobs team will help built a talent pipeline and grow opportunities for more individuals to receive job training for careers in clean energy, green infrastructure, environmental education, and more to speed up implementation.

Creating safer streets for cyclists and pedestrians is a matter of life and death in our city, with every moment we waste not reaching our transportation goals leading to an increase of traffic fatalities. As Mayor, I will swiftly invest in staff to oversee and implement key transportation projects, like building a citywide network of protected bike lanes, and implementing vision zero and Neighborhood Slow Streets projects on time. I will leverage the infusion of federal funds to ensure we meet our short and long term infrastructure goals.

I am committed to continuing the transportation goals put in place by the prior Administration and will work to implement these goals in a timely and efficient manner through annual project progress reports and sufficient funding.

I will make it a priority to ensure that our city develops sustainable public and multi-modal transportation systems now. I have fought for $1 billion in mobility improvements to implement Vision Zero through the Capital Plan, a nine percent increase of the previous year. Many of the transportation projects my budget invests in include adding bike lanes to city intersections, including $7.9 million to maximize usage in existing high volume bike lanes by construction bike lane extensions and connections with citywide bike corridors, and implement new bike corridors. I will continue to make sure that Boston’s multi-modal transportation system is an example for other cities to envy.

I will work with and support experts in this area to develop the most efficient, safe and environmentally friendly projects, while providing their completion in a timely manner.

Creating networks of protected bike lanes and off-street paths is critical for expanding cycling access to people of all ages and backgrounds. As Council President, I convened the first ever City Council policy briefing series on transportation policy, including identifying the key places to build out a connected, low-stress cycling network across the city. As Mayor, I will streamline processes between the Transportation Department and Public Works, build up in-house capacity for design and engineering, set clear benchmarks for progress to move through the backlogged pipeline, and take leadership to drive larger infrastructure projects, including those managed by the State. Achieving a just COVID-19 recovery that also moves the city towards racial and economic justice across all of our neighborhoods requires advancing transportation equity. We can fast-track project implementation with simple, temporary materials like paint, signs, and flex posts through ongoing maintenance work. Every street repaving project should be an opportunity to implement a Better Bike corridor, and transportation planning should be fully integrated with our planning, zoning, and development processes.

The safety of all residents is my top priority. As Chief of Economic Development for seven years I served and was responsive to all neighborhoods. The reason I was able to lead growth and support for small businesses, attract over 140,000 jobs to Boston, and set requirements for City spending on MWBEs, is by bringing all voices to the table to facilitate transparent and action-oriented debates to help move Boston forward for everyone. We must be able to find consensus for the greater good, and we have work to do to educate residents that it will take every single one of us to prepare and mitigate the impacts of climate change, and create a safer Boston for all commuters and residents. If we are leading broad community engagement, we will transparently study potential impacts to traffic and quality of life, and make decisions to augment traffic flow or add more bus rapid transit options for local residents.

Boston’s neighborhoods are home to a diverse array of business districts, and I envision them serving as destinations — not throughways. As Mayor, I will invest in projects that serve to connect our neighborhoods, prioritize communal gathering, build social connectivity and cohesion, and increase economic activity. We can build consensus by working with communities, not against them, and not by pitting neighborhoods against each other for the resources to make their roads safer. Safe streets that include people who walk and bike over parking and vehicle travel lanes are also good for business and an issue the community members can agree on. We have seen that when we prioritize small businesses, outdoor dining, and community spaces over parking spaces we are able to create a more vibrant, connected, and safe community. For any street redesign, I will ensure residents are at the table and lead with a racial equity and justice lens, understanding that especially in communities of color, adding safety measures, bike lanes, or other transit improvement infrastructure causes fear of gentrification or displacement.

I believe we must balance infrastructure needs and road design with community desires and am committed to listening to all road users to make a well-informed decision. As Mayor, I will build a new Transportation Office of Information & Innovation to find practical, data-driven solutions to boost equity, predictability, and safety across all modes of transportation, including being a one-stop shop on current data to make informed policy decisions, implementing new pilot programs in our neighborhoods, and exploring ways to apply successful initiatives from cities across our country and world to Boston.

We need to be cognizant and receptive to people who are concerned about narrowing the roadway and less access to parking. However, our city needs a robust and multi-modal transportation system, which includes reliable bus services, bicycle lanes, and more walkable sidewalks. We can also demonstrate through reliable and easy access alternatives to traditional cars that people can use alternative means for reliable transportation. Spotlighting the development of a robust public transportation system will be a goal for my full term as mayor.

Resident input is a crucial part of this endeavor, and will be carried out in a meaningful way. I will work closely with the city councilors to make sure that the citizens' voices are heard.

Preserving the future of our city and planet demands that we take bold steps to achieve a dramatic mode shift from vehicles to public transportation, cycling, and walking. I have been using my platform in elected office to advocate for streets for people even before I became part of the cycling community myself (please see my 2016 op-ed, “The road to fear-free biking”), and I have continued to advocate for and secure protected cycling infrastructure, dedicated bus lanes, and traffic calming measures citywide, as well as leading the charge for open streets. As Mayor, I will ensure that safety and Vision Zero is a baseline for transportation planning, with clear citywide policies to proactively implement traffic calming rather than wait for tragedies to happen. We will target investment in dedicated bus lanes and fare-free transit, bikeshare and cycling infrastructure, and pedestrian safety, as well as clearly communicating to community members the ways that these investments are helping us achieve transit justice citywide. Our policies and planning should follow principles of complete streets, removing any negotiations that would threaten safety from the community process.

While providing more affordable homes is one of my top priorities, my answer would depend on location and planning for that neighborhood, as well as community engagement. As Chief of Economic Development, I partnered with the community to create neighborhood plans for Nubian Square and Uphams Corner that captured their vision and desires. Through those processes, we were able to outline clear goals for different types of housing (ownership, market-rate, affordable, deeply affordable), as well as density that was appropriate for that neighborhood. As Mayor, I will continue to strengthen linkage and IDP to capture more value from new developments, which fund critical new affordable housing and job training. I am committed to raising the percentage of the Inclusionary Development obligation of developers to between 15-20%, and to an annual assessment of the program. Raising the threshold to 15-20% is a practical and achievable goal; going too high with a percentage may prove to be a deterrent to the creation of new affordable housing. Additionally, by assessing IDP and Linkage annually, we will be able to consistently adjust to the market.

We must do more to expand affordable housing and ensure that all development creates pathways to opportunities for our residents. My housing plan calls for increasing IDP to 20% in neighborhoods seeing lots of development, economic growth, and that have close proximity to jobs and transportation - like Back Bay, South End, and the Seaport. The City’s priority must be to increase the proportion of affordable units required per development and we should grade it by neighborhood. As Mayor, I will encourage developers to build on-site inclusionary development as much as possible to bridge the racial and class divisions and simultaneously strengthen the IDP transfer program for off-site development. I will also create greater predictability and consistency by removing affordable housing from the article 80 review process while ensuring adequate community process.

I would support a 60 unit building with 20% affordable units over a 12 unit building with 50% affordability. As Boston continues to experience a housing affordability crisis, increasing our stock of affordable housing is critical and urgent. The City’s Inclusionary Development Policy is one of the most impactful methods we have to address the housing crisis. The implementation of IDP has demonstrated that raising the percentage requirement of income restricted housing does increase the risk of developers opting to build small buildings to circumvent the IDP. Setting the IDP at 20% enables the City to generate and preserve much-needed housing throughout the growing private development. As Mayor, I will focus on increasing our housing supply to ensure it reflects the realities of Boston’s residents and expanding tools and resources to keep and make existing housing affordable. I believe we must reform our IDP to establish a 20% requirement for income restricted units and amend the City’s application of the AMI to ensure our standards better reflect the income of the many residents who need more affordable housing.

My administration is working with housing advocates to improve the Inclusionary Development Policy, address displacement and capture the silver lining of development. We are looking into lowering the 10-unit threshold to increase the stock of affordable housing and opportunities for family-sized housing. While we can’t have a one-size-fits-all approach in looking at what the right percentage for IDP is, we must ensure the IDP requirement is one of our many tools to address displacement, inequity, and affordability. I will commit to ensuring the affordability levels of IDP units better reflect the area median incomes of our neighborhoods. I also see IDP as a tool to increase homeownership for working families and to close the racial wealth gap

With an ever-changing and evolutionary dynamic, it is firstly important to consider the needs of a neighborhood, and then to provide individuals the means to have a safe and clean place to live. If there was a need for housing, then I would work closely with those who could provide that.

To address Boston’s housing crisis, we must grow the supply of housing, with a focus on low-income and workforce housing. As such, our policy tools to link private development with affordability should be geared to maximize the total number of affordable units created. To that end, I support changing the inclusionary development policy to require that least 20% of new units be affordable and income-restricted, and I would increase this threshold further if analysis from Boston’s new city planning department supports a higher percentage.

Keeping up with housing demand and increasing affordability is crucial to making sure working people, families, seniors, and everyone can continue to thrive in the communities they love. It’s also a key strategy for wealth building, preventing displacement, and ending chronic homelessness. As Mayor, I will increase housing production in Boston to keep up with demand and stabilize rents and housing costs, in part by supporting zoning reform so that higher-density housing can be built as-of-right near transit, and by building backstops into programs to guard against displacement of existing residents. I will streamline the permitting process to reduce the cost of building affordable housing. I will look to amend the permitting process in a way that improves efficiency, accessibility, and predictability, ensuring that all new development better incorporates the priorities of residents.

Housing is a fundamental human right and every Bostonian deserves a safe place to call home. We need to address the inequities in housing and our development processes, so that all Bostonians can benefit from the City’s growth. The first piece of legislation I filed as a Councilor was the Community Preservation Act, a critical legislative tool for municipalities to generate millions of dollars annually for the creation of affordable housing. As Mayor, I will lead with an equity-driven approach to solving the housing crisis that will engage all stakeholders and put the power back in the community during city planning. I will do this by redefining affordability and pushing to change the definition of AMI, ensuring income-restricted units truly support the financial needs of low-income residents, and exploring how we can expand the definition and criteria of low income housing. I will also work to make permitting faster - removing affordable housing and small developments from the BPDA review process and putting them before the ZBA, while also investing in modernized technology to increase efficiency in the review process.

As Boston continues to face an affordable housing crisis, removing barriers to increasing our supply of affordable housing is critical. Unfortunately, our outdated zoning code and pervasive inconsistencies in our development processes have made producing affordable housing time-consuming and expensive. I believe every step of our development and zoning processes must be consistent and predictable. As Mayor, I will focus on making the planning, development and building processes of housing more accessible and transparent. I will implement an expedited zoning approval process for projects that are centered around increased affordability and variety. I will prioritize updating and streamlining Boston’s decades old zoning processes to be more transparent, equitable and better align with our city’s housing needs as well as the needs of Boston’s residents.

We need more affordable housing as soon as possible. To catch up to our goal, we need to look into a combination of innovative and reliable policies which will allow us to expand our housing building opportunities. This would include more community land trust projects which would build with the sustainable development of their neighborhoods at the forefront of their minds, and looking into ways that we can streamline the process for good developments to be built quickly to ensure that the supply of housing units can keep up with the demand. However, we cannot allow the communities which have spent generations in Boston to be bulldozed by rapidly approved projects which would displace the families of Boston. We need to find a middle ground, where sustainable development of affordable housing is encouraged, but we do not ignore the needs of the residents of Boston already living in the city.

I will work with experts in this area to comprehensively explore all aspects of this process, while maintaining efficiency of project development, as well their completions on a timely basis.

When the vast majority of new development projects require a mix of variances granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals or spot-zoning approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency, not only does this create a costly, complex, lengthy process to secure approvals, but the resulting development can be a patchwork of inconsistent development that doesn’t match community needs. The example of the Seaport highlights how our development approvals process has exacerbated inequities, fallen short of integrating transportation access, and isn’t meeting our climate resiliency needs. I’ve proposed restructuring our development agency to separate planning, implement comprehensive master planning to update our zoning code, and streamline processes. (See my op-ed, “Business as usual is hurting Boston”) In the very short term, we should expedite permitting for deeply affordable projects, allow accessory dwelling units, and create affordable, climate resilient zoning overlays for greater density near transit.

This is the central question facing Boston: how do we continue to grow and develop without displacement? I know it’s possible because we’ve done it before at the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, the country's largest urban land trust, where we build over 225 permanently affordable homes for families. As Mayor, I will secure more resources for affordable homes and public housing options, including more affordable housing for seniors and people with disabilities. I will do this by: using more City-owned land for affordable homes, including leveraging City-owned buildings to create housing adjacent to libraries and community centers; raising IDP and do annual assessment of the program; create a fund that supports the acquisition of land and creation of affordable housing by community land trusts, and support the creation of shared ownership programs like Neighborhood Investment Companies; and continue to support innovative methods of redevelopment for BHA properties, including participation in public/private partnerships and leveraging the new $40B in HUD funding proposed in President Biden’s American Jobs Plan.

Boston residents are being displaced at an alarming rate due to a lack of community planning process and rising costs. As Mayor, I will strengthen programs to provide immediate rental relief while simultaneously establishing long-term programs to mitigate gentrification and displacement. I will do this by investing in the Office of Housing Stability to better help renters and families facing displacement, eviction or homelessness. As Mayor, I will also prioritize access to affordable housing through workforce housing voucher programs and removing affordable housing from Article 80 to build more units faster. City Hall should play a critical role in helping first-time homebuyers to participate in wealth-building opportunities, which can be done by investing in offices serving residents of public housing, expanding the capacity of the Boston Home Center, and proven programs that increase resident buying power for renters. I will also partner with local financial institutions to increase opportunities for aspiring homeowners to afford property in Boston to offer diversified and trusted mortgage products, down payment assistance, and other supports.

The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the fragility of our housing market and increased the risk of displacement for our residents experiencing housing insecurity. As eviction moratoriums, mortgage forbearance programs, and stimulus funds end, we need to protect and to support at-risk populations and the housing stock they live in. I believe the City has an obligation to elevate our response and services to protect our residents at risk of displacement. I have demonstrated that belief through my efforts on the Council to address the growing level of family homelessness and passing an Ordinance to Create a Special Commission to End Family Homelessness in Boston. I will continue and expand upon these efforts as Mayor to ensure we are realizing every opportunity to protect vulnerable tenants during this uncertain time. I will also expand and strengthen the Office of Housing Stability and its programming and take proactive measures to ensure housing stability for all in Boston. I will invest in staffing and infrastructure on the community level geared to reach people before rent and or mortgage arrears become an insurmountable problem.

During my time as mayor, I implemented $50 million in rental relief to support residents impacted by COVID-19, and I have since announced another $50 million emergency relief plan which will provide $5 million into investments for affordable housing. My budget also includes a number of investments into affordable housing, including $2.4 million committed to Boston Home Center’s first-time Homebuyer Program, $5 million for housing vouchers, and nearly $30 million into renovating housing developments and public housing.

Beyond this, we have an opportunity right now to develop more housing in a way that prioritizes our residents. That means mixed-use development; that means home ownership opportunities; and sustainable, LEED-certified builds. We must also make sure that our contractors and developers are inclusive and diverse, employing Boston residents, people of color and women. With these plans, and by listening to the community for their thoughts and plans, we can create an affordable Boston where families will not have to worry about keeping a roof over their head.

Any action or policy under existing municipal power that truly spoke in the best interests of our citizens, irrespective of what they were.

No answer

We need to be thoughtful in how we approach development in our city and ensure the needs of the community, especially our communities of color, are at the forefront of city planning. As Mayor, I will ensure that our planning process balances the priority of creating new housing developments in a timely manner while also addressing community needs. Under my leadership, I will prioritize what the community wants and not make a final decision until we hear from the community on how they want their neighborhoods to be developed. I will also use zoning overlays to encourage transit-oriented development and mitigate costly parking requirements, and establish an inclusionary development transfer program to enable the building of more affordable housing units near transit.

Inclusive, thoughtful growth is what will build better, stronger, more resilient neighborhoods across our entire city. I believe that development should not benefit a chosen few and push people out, but that we have an opportunity to leverage new development to create better connected, mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods. Part of that is finding a balance of building more affordable housing, community space, green space, and job centers throughout our city, to use development to lift up all of Boston.

These tradeoffs need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. For developments which are located with easy access to necessities like a grocery store, public transportation, and medical offices, it may be fine to have less parking in those units. Conversely, developments which require further travel for those services may need more parking. We cannot apply a blanket approach to this which creates standards where you have parking requirements which don’t make sense. We must also listen to communities to determine what is the best kind of sustainable development for the community, and these leaders can often be an insightful group which better understand the challenges of a community.

I will work closely with city councilors to guarantee that the needs our residents are considered, and met through open dialogue.

Each and every housing development in the city must be complemented with a transit plan and open space plan that is oriented towards transit justice, climate justice, and economic justice. Building housing without consideration for the transit mode shifts that we must achieve and the open space that communities and people need to be healthy will not achieve climate, transit, racial, and economic justice. I’ve laid out a housing plan that includes eliminating minimum parking requirements for 100% affordable and public housing projects, and dedicating City resources to defend these projects from frivolous lawsuits like the one currently delaying a critical supportive housing project in Jamaica Plain.