The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is currently in a housing crisis requiring statewide development, according to Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus.
“Every community has a responsibility to create some amount of housing,” Augustus said.
Augustus spoke at Boston College on Wednesday as part of the Jane Jacobs Lecture series, which features speakers dedicated to diversifying communities within the realm of urban real estate. Prior to his appointment as secretary in 2023, Augustus served as city manager of Worcester, Mass., and director of Government and Community Relations at the College of the Holy Cross.
Worcester, like many cities across the United States, saw its population slowly decrease after manufacturing jobs moved out, Augustus said. But today, the city is rebounding.
“[Worcester is] now the fastest growing city in New England,” Augustus said. “I would like to think that’s partly because of some of the things that we did when I was city manager.”
Augustus said he helped revitalize the area with a simple philosophy: a healthy city requires residents capable of living comfortably without great expense. By creating affordable housing around Worcester, the city avoided a disastrous housing crisis and attracted more residents, Augustus said.
A staple to the housing crisis is the issue of zoning, Augustus said—the government’s method of allocating property and deciding how it can be used. These laws can negatively impact the housing supply and decrease affordability. In Massachusetts, the parameters for and strictness against new developments fluctuate between the zoning laws of each city and town.
“Part of the housing crisis that we’re facing here in Massachusetts is because of these local barriers to housing production,” Augustus said.
Beyond that, many people, including postgraduates, are unable to live in Massachusetts due to the high housing costs, according to Augustus.
“We are competing for talent for the entire globe, and we need to make sure that folks fall in love with Massachusetts,” Augustus said. “Maybe they’ve come to one of our great colleges and universities here. They want to stay here, but they’re not able to afford to stay here, and we’re losing that talent.”
Although the state is efficient at providing resources for higher education and job opportunities, the lack of affordable housing pushes students and workers away from settling in the commonwealth, Augustus noted.
“We have a 1.6 percent vacancy rate in Massachusetts, so that is the lowest vacancy rate of the 50 states,” Augustus said. “That means if you’re trying to find the requirements, maybe you’re a single mom with a couple of kids, and you need to be close to where you work, or close to public transportation to get to work, there are often not a lot of options, and what is available could be out of your price range.”
In a final effort for a call to action, Augustus asked the audience to consider how the affordable housing crisis might impact them in the near future.
“At some point in time, you’ll be looking to live off campus, and you’ll see what the cost of housing is in the greater Boston area,” Augustus said. “It is a real challenge for many families.”
