Greg Maynard

If you are interested in housing in Boston, check out this debate recording and the written responses to AHMA's questionnaire. It is the least rhetorical, most in-depth look at where Councilors & Council candidates stand on the policies that can really move the needle on housing. #mapoli #bospoli

The #1 thing I have learned about housing policy is that housing is too expensive & supply is limited because *people make it that way.* Some of that is active NIMBY opposition; some is a simple failure to fix broken rules like the one below.

Very useful thread - just take the caveats seriously.

And there is a lot more housing policy & research in 2025 vs 2008 b/c it polls much higher! Housing in 2025 is the stand alone top issue in the Globe’s latest poll: that was NOT the case in 2008. You were into housing before it was cool: congrats. A lot more ppl think it’s an issue now.

Disavowed? I’m asking if you think a leading climate change org’s conclusion abt what is happening with Boston’s climate change mitigation projects is correct or not, and you start tap dancing.

I agree re:empty bldgs. But I think you’ll be disappointed abt who said what when that report came out.

I forget you know everything.

The fact you won’t agree/disagree re:CLF’s conclusions shows you’re incapable of “an honest dialog about the City’s budget.” Like, the issues CLF ID’d dove tail with BPI’s falling office values report. Boston’s pre-Covid budget was built on new bldg & rising values. That’s over: what comes next?

Yes it is. Why do you think there is a lot more housing policy being produced in 2025 vs 2015? The polls changed. The public said housing was a concern, the pols decided that something needed to be done, and now think tanks are working to identify the issues & producing different something’s.

Ive been around long enough to know you think that everyone - the press, the pols, the non-profits - should prioritize their focus & beliefs by asking one Steve Hollinger, but I don’t share that view. It’s called “public policy” and the ‘public’ means polling and press reports and budget schedules.

So to translate: you agree w/ CLF’s conclusion that construction on climate change mitigation in Boston has been largely abandoned, but are satisfied with rhetoric b/c govt is hard. That’s a reasonable POV, but hopefully you can see it makes a report on ‘what is city hall doing on the issue’ tough.

How is it “politicizing the issue” to provide an update on the status of a City Council docket concerning an issue that is extensively covered by the press, included in all the public polls, where major policy changes have happened *this year*, and which the council itself talks abt a lot?

Cool, but do you agree or disagree with this conclusion abt City Hall’s climate change efforts written last year?

Hey @fortpointer.bsky.social this is something you pay close attention to: was CLF wrong in 2024? Have things changed in 2025? A more cynical person might conclude your concern abt climate change is b/c you’re a political partisan looking to score points, not genuine interest in the issue.

Boston Releases '30-Day Review' Memo of Safety Projects - Streetsblog Massachusetts The city remains secretive about whose opinions mattered enough for its consultation in the review process.

What is your complaint? Both sides of this issue are upset and confused abt what is happening, it’s being discussed at the @bostoncitycouncil.bsky.social a LOT, and the body has a hearing order to find out more. Are you arguing that there is no public interest in finding out what’s happening here?

While the facts are rarely a match for right-wing fearmongering, it is still worth noting that local officials *already have* the power to block SB 9 projects where they believe they will have "a specific, adverse impact on health and safety."

What Happened to Climate Ready Boston? Boston's ambitious climate resilience plans have stalled in recent years because the city relies on developers to implement them.

Climate change is important, but I don’t think you’d like whatever came out. The City’s situation as described by CLF last year hasn’t changed: without a LOT of private-sector development & federal dollars not much can happen. Today those funding source are in worse shape vs 2024.

You know who else focuses on this stuff: the Globe, the BBJ, MassInc - did you see what Boston Foundation wrote abt Boston’s housing production in their 2024 report card?? How deep does it go?!

If you want to know about how the team plans on financing its part of the White Stadium, you don’t need to rely on me or the Globe: I’m sure you could ask Mayor Wu. Based on your interactions on this platform, you two talk a fair bit

BPI has done some still unpublished work on stadiums, their financing, and their role as economic development catalyst. This isn’t a little known issue: i think you’re familiar with some of the publicly available work on this from your involvement in the No Boston Olympics movement.

Conflating very straight forward policy work with candidates isn’t a good look Steve! When you start thinking that quantifying major problems is part of a conspiracy, maybe take a breath and touch some grass.

Maybe the Mayor & Governor can both read this to figure out how to move forward: bsky.app/profile/yona...

For a great example of ‘joint planning” is hard’ check out today’s fight pitting @mass.streetsblog.org & @transitmatters.bsky.social against - for different (bus lanes vs bus drivers) but related reasons - MBTA & Boston City Hall. That fighting is happening before housing even enters the chat!

Planning for Housing in a Regional Context

Integrating transportation & housing planning has long been a goal for US regional organizations: It could help reduce cost of living & improve communities.

But are regional organizations actually doing that sort of joint planning?

We investigate in new research @urbaninstitute.bsky.social!

Here's the MBTA's Director of Transit Priority's response to our story yesterday:

Zoning reform can be a major enabler of decarbonization. Without fixing low-density mandates, we can’t scale walkable, transit-accessible housing,
we lock in high-emission lifestyles and waste trillions on car-centric infrastructure.

In short: If climate is the fire, zoning is the gasoline.

My YIMBY take on design is that micromanaging architecture through strict regulation and/or subjective design review processes empowers busybodies and NIMBYs for little public benefit and that public policies to create attractive neighborhoods should instead focus on designing the public realm.

But what we are seeing today is not the product of the "free market - or at least not entirely. For just as large corporations hav rigged the market through their political power, so they have rigged public policy to concentrate economic activity within their favored geographies - to their profit and our misfortune.

I had thought that major Bay Area employers were funding YIMBYism so they could hire and retain workers for less pay and that other big businesses were relocating to lower cost areas to save money but apparently I’m getting this backwards. dlondon7.substack.com/p/the-left-b...

I hate to say it, but these are stronger housing measures than we’ve passed in MA. Let’s change that, @massgovernor.bsky.social @kimdriscollma.bsky.social!!

It says *something* that City Hall was able to implement a new ridership policy AND produce a report on on-time buses just a few weeks after identifying that as the major issue for whether or not to state intervention in BPS was extended, but hasn’t even discussed the changes you’re proposing.

Based on what’s been publicly reported, it doesn’t seem like a lack of cameras were the problem.