Home for Everyone: Building Livable Communities

Massachusetts needs to build 222,000 homes and every community needs to do its part. Demographic trends and forecasted housing needs indicate there is a need to increase the diversity of homes available in many communities.  This may mean adding ADUs, 2-4 family homes, and larger apartment and condo buildings in towns that don’t have much of these housing types. 

New zoning and infrastructure needs careful planning to ensure that it enhances the local environment, strengthens municipal finances, and contributes meaningfully to meeting regional housing needs. Adopting pro-housing policies requires building community support. There are good reasons for residents and property owners to be concerned about the impact of additional homes. At the same time, concerns about the negative impacts of new homes are often overstated and not supported by the facts. 

The resources in this section are designed to help local stakeholders and leaders learn what is known about the impacts of new housing on the existing communities and neighborhoods where the housing is built; and provides tools for having data-informed and productive local dialogue about housing policy.