New poll reveals stunning support for more Boston housing — and some ways to make it happen
More than 80% of Boston residents believe the city needs to build thousands more homes to address the housing shortage, according to a new poll .
Among survey respondents, 81% said they supported a goal of building 30,000 new homes. There was strong support from both renters and homeowners, with 86% and 77% in agreement, respectively, and across the city, with a majority at least somewhat agreeing in every neighborhood.
"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," said Jesse Kanson-Benanav, executive director of Abundant Housing Massachusetts, which commissioned the poll from MassINC Polling Group. "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."
The poll also revealed strong support for other pro-housing policies, some of which are already in the works at City Hall. Eighty percent were in favor of allowing accessory dwelling units, sometimes known as "granny flats" or "in-law apartments," by right, a policy implemented for the rest of the state earlier this year and which the city is currently working to follow on as part of a greater effort to update its zoning code.
Updates to Boston's zoning also received a favorable outlook from the poll, with 78% of respondents in support.
The poll also found that 77% of residents were in favor of allowing new residential buildings up to six stories, 71% for allowing up to 12 stories near MBTA stations and 70% for allowing flexibility on parking requirements for new development.
"These measures will make our cities and towns more affordable for local workers by shortening commutes, helping local businesses hire locally, and supporting a thriving community for everyone," Kanson-Benenav said.
Despite some of the policies already being discussed at the city level, the results showed that many residents still see room for improvement from city officials. Just 22% said the city was doing a good or better job of addressing housing affordability, while 31% rated the city's efforts as "fair" and 43% as "poor."
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