StreetsPAC Mass, which supports sustainable transportation and public transit, released endorsements for Boston’s upcoming city council elections. All 13 seats are up for election, but only the four at-large seats and four district seats have competition. They endorsed Lydia Edwards, Kim Janey, Corey Dinopolous, Brandon Bowser in the district races and Michelle Wu, Ayanna Pressley, Annissa Essaibi-George and Domingos DaRosa for the at-large seats.
While these may be the purported pro-transit candidates, unfortunately for Boston, they have blind spots when it comes to housing. Except for Edwards, they offer the usual pablum of “better planning” and more taxes. Little understanding of housing is evident, especially by Bowser. On his website he implicitly denies filtering and praises the community planning process that has unreasonably blocked dozens of apartments and disparages affordable options while supporting parking minimums.
Will Boston ever produce a candidate who bothers to read Barry Bluestone’s Housing Report Cards?
Market Urbanism Report is sponsored by Panoramic Interests, a progressive developer in San Francisco. Panoramic, which is owned by Patrick Kennedy, specializes in 160 sqft micro-units (called MicroPads) that are built using modular construction materials. Panoramic has long touted these units as a cost-effective way to house San Francisco’s growing homeless population. But Panoramic also builds larger units of between 440-690 sqft. To learn more about Panoramic’s micro-unit model, read MUR’s coverage on the firm in its America’s Progressive Developers series. Or visit Panoramic’s website.
Market Urbanism Report is a media company that advances free-market city policy. We aim for a liberalized approach that produces cheaper housing, faster transport and better quality-of-life.