Should states force cities to build cheaper houses?
asserted
states → force → houses
Voters here will decide
asserted
Voters → decide → ?
Massachusetts is one of the most expensive states in the country, and it's easy to find people frustrated with high home prices.
asserted
it → find → prices
"It's really hard to find housing, it's extremely expensive, and I can't afford to live alone," said renter Jamie Sharken, 34, as she walks her dog in Lexington, north of Boston and near where she shares a home with three others.
asserted
she → find → others
A massive housing shortage has pushed up prices.
asserted
shortage → push → prices
Sharken grew up in the state and would love to buy a home, but finds it hard to see how she could afford it.
uncertain
she → grow → it
"Most of my friends have so much debt from education," she said.
asserted
she → have → education
"Just being able to save money to put a down payment on a house feels impossible these days."
asserted
being → save → house
She's heard about the ballot measure that aims to make housing more affordable by creating more starter homes on smaller lots.
asserted
housing → hear → lots
Cities and towns here and across the U.S. have set minimum lot sizes for single-family homes, many of them quite large.
asserted
many → set → them
The measure would require them to allow homes on lots as small as 5,000 square feet, about the size of a basketball court.
asserted
measure → require → court
If it passes, Massachusetts would become the latest in a growing number of states to mandate such a zoning change amid a nationwide housing crunch.
asserted
Massachusetts → pass → crunch
The idea is to boost overall supply and override persistent, local "not in my backyard" opposition to new development.
asserted
idea → boost → development
Critics bristle at the loss of local control and say the measure may not really help struggling first-time buyers.
uncertain
measure → bristle → buyers
But Sharken said encouraging smaller homes makes sense to her.
asserted
encouraging → say → her
"There's so many homes that are empty with five, six, 10 bedrooms and one couple living there," she said.
asserted
she → be → bedrooms
"I think it's time to share the wealth in terms of the space that we have and to have more housing for people."
asserted
we → think → people
An "existential crisis" generations in the making
To understand what's driving the zoning measure and how it would work, it helps to go back in time.
asserted
it → understand → time
Andrew Mikula, a housing economist leading the push for the ballot measure, takes me to a quiet street in North Braintree, about 10 miles south of Boston.
asserted
Mikula → lead → Boston
The block we stand on was built a century ago.
asserted
we → stand → ?
Colonial and Cape Cod-style clapboard homes, with shutters and dormer windows, sit fairly close together.
asserted
homes → sit → shutters
"With modern zoning, these homes are illegal to build today," Mikula said.
asserted
Mikula → build → zoning
That's because after World War II, as suburbs exploded, cities across the country mandated bigger and bigger lot sizes for single-family homes only.
asserted
cities → explode → homes
The trend effectively banned apartments, duplexes or townhomes on large swaths of residential land and locked in economic and racial segregation.
asserted
trend → ban → segregation
We see the change as we walk a couple of blocks down the street.
asserted
we → see → street
"You need to build a large McMansion just to justify the cost of assembling so much land," said Mikula.
asserted
Mikula → need → land
"So this is what you get."
asserted
you → get → what
In fact, most single-family zoning in the state requires at least an acre of land — about 40,000 square feet, or nearly the size of a football field without the end zones.
asserted
zoning → require → zones
That also means fewer homes get built.
asserted
homes → mean → ?
The ballot measure does not apply to Boston, which has its own zoning rules.
asserted
which → apply → rules
By the state's own data, expensive housing is fueling an exodus of working-age people.
asserted
housing → fuel → people
"And when we lose young workers and family members of people who already live here," Mikula said, "that not only separates extended families but also hurts our economy.
asserted
Mikula → lose → economy
"
Retail, service, and healthcare workers who stay "just can't afford to live in the communities that they serve," said Jesse Kanson-Benanav, executive director at Abundant Housing Massachusetts.
asserted
Benanav → stay → Massachusetts
He called the state's housing shortage "an existential crisis" that hits all generations.
asserted
that → call → generations
An estimated 400,000 young adults still live with their parents.
asserted
adults → estimate → parents
Meanwhile, he said seniors struggle to maintain aging homes, "because we haven't built … moderate-sized and reasonably priced homes for them to downsize in their own community.
asserted
them → say → community
In recent years, Massachusetts lawmakers have forced cities to allow multifamily housing near transit stations and accessory dwelling units wherever single-family homes are allowed, and committed billions toward public and lower-income housing.
asserted
homes → force → housing
Kanson-Benanav called the starter home ballot measure "one strategy among many" and hopes that if it passes, it will inspire lawmakers to do even more.
asserted
it → call → more
Polling suggests broad support.
uncertain
Polling → suggest → support
Even smaller homes can be pricey
Critics resent the prospect of a blanket state mandate and question whether it will produce truly affordable housing.
asserted
it → resent → housing
…and 45 more, not listed.
The Aporia
