A.B. 2097 and A.B. 1778 illustrate that a powerful approach to addressing the overlapping problems of affordable housing and sustainable transportation can be to solve both at once.
New efforts by federal and state authorities to encourage the construction of housing in walkable and transit-rich communities suggests that many cities' best chance at progressive zoning reform will come from the top down, rather than the grass roots.
People are working from home, resulting in one in five offices in San Francisco sitting empty. The Bay Area also has a housing crisis. Which has more and more people, including Governor Gavin Newsom, thinking it's time to look at converting some of that disused office space into housing.
The Baker administration is gearing up to implement a new law that could force suburbs in the MBTA service area to reform zoning laws and legalize the construction of tens or even hundreds of thousands of new homes near MBTA stations across eastern Massachusetts.