Goals
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Indicator Measures
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How are we doing?
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6.1 Retaining Boston’s Competitive Advantage in Housing |
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6.1.1 Housing costs as a percentage of the cost of living, Boston vs. selected cities, 2002 |
Boston ranked 4th — behind Manhattan, San Francisco and Chicago — as one of the most expensive US housing markets. |
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6.1.2 Housing units within a 10-minute walk of public transit nodes, Boston |
See Transportation section. |
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6.2 Housing Affordable to All Residents
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6.2.1 Median home price vs. median household income, Metro region, 1990 – 2002 |
Since 1996, homes prices and the income required to purchase a median-priced home have almost doubled while median family wages have remained almost flat. |
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6.2.2 Median home prices by neighborhood, Boston, 1998 – 2002 |
Median home prices in Boston have risen dramatically in all Boston neighborhoods, doubling in some neighborhoods. |
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6.2.3 Median advertised two-bedroom rental, Boston, 1995 – 2002 |
Median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Boston increased from about $850 in 1995 to almost $1600 in 2002. |
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6.3 An Adequate Housing Supply
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6.3.1 Growth in population, households, housing units and jobs, Metro Boston, 1990 – 2000 |
The Metro Boston population grew by about 5% and the number of housing units by about 5%, but households grew by 7.7%. |
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6.3.2 Vacancy rates in Metro Boston, Inner Core Communities and Boston, 1990 – 2000 |
Growth in supply ranged from 38% in Hopkinton to negative 3% in Essex. |
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6.3.3 Municipalities with the fastest and slowest growth in housing supply, Metro Boston, 1990 - 2000 |
With increasing demand, vacant homes and apartments declined across the region. |
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6.4 Adequate Housing Production
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6.4.1 Market rate and subsidized housing production in Metro Boston, 1995 – 2002 |
Housing production failed by more than by more than 7,000 units per year to meet the 5-year (2001 – 2005) goal of 36,000 units necessary to equalize supply and demand. |
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6.4.2 Dormitory beds to students in Boston, 1990 - 2000 |
Dormitory beds in Boston increased by 79% to 31,865 but still fall short of the goal. |
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6.5 Homelessness Prevention
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6.5.1 Homelessness among men, women and children, Boston, 1992 - 2002 |
Homelessness rose even during the economic expansion but peaked in 2002; family homelessness rose between 2001 and 2002. |
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6.6 Equitable Distribution of Affordable Housing
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6.6.1 Metro Boston communities with the highest and lowest percentage of affordable housing, 1997 - 2001 |
Boston is at 20% affordable, with most cities at least over 7% and five communities with less than 1%. |
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6.6.2 Distribution of affordable housing units by Boston neighborhood |
Boston’s affordable housing units are concentrated in primarily four neighborhoods. |
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6.7 Fair Housing |
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6.7.1 Access to mortgages by race, 1996 - 2001 |
Available data show progress for Latinos and Asians but that loans to blacks and whites declined. |
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6.8 Healthy Homes and Neighborhoods |
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6.8.1 Mortgage foreclosures by Boston neighborhood, 1990 – 2002 |
Following a peak in the early 1990s, foreclosures have fallen to almost zero. |
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6.8.2 Abandoned properties by Boston neighborhood, 1997 - 2002 |
Boston’s abandoned properties decreased from more than 800 to less than 300. |
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6.8.3 Reported cases of lead poisoning, Boston, 1992 - 2001 |
Boston decreased childhood lead exposure dramatically between 1993 and 2001. |
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6.9 Public Funding for Housing
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6.9.1 Trend in public funding for housing, federal and state, 1989 – 2002 |
State funds for housing have declined as a percent of the state budget; federal and city funding have eased the gap somewhat. |
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