Unlocking Housing Production Commission report provides 50+ policy recommendations to increase housing production

Policy

Posted on February 25, 2025

BOSTON -- After 14 months of work, MHP is thrilled that “Building for Tomorrow: A report from the Unlocking Housing Production Commission” was released last week. This report, authored by experts across various fields, is the next step in increasing the supply of housing and lowering costs for residents of the Commonwealth.

"The Governor asked us to be bold in our recommendations and I think we achieved that," said Clark Ziegler, executive director of MHP and a member of the Commission. "We have a lot more work to do but I'm proud of our efforts to take a methodical, comprehensive look at decades of past successes and challenges to recommend 50 potential next steps that could become the building blocks to strengthen our housing ecosystem. Monumental issues require monumental responses, and I feel confident that our Commission has identified several once-in-a-generation opportunities we can take to move housing forward for everyone in Massachusetts."

“Building for Tomorrow” provides recommendations across four crucial and interconnected themes: updating land use and zoning practices; streamlining regulations, codes, and local permitting; economic incentives and workforce development in the housing industry; and bolstering statewide planning and local coordination.

In addition to Clark serving on the UHPC, several MHP reports, resources, and datasets were utilized in the production of the report including:

"The recommendations in this report are designed to build off past work we in the Commonwealth have implemented to increase housing production," said Dana LeWinter, chief of public and community engagement at MHP. "The passage of the Housing Choice Initiative, the MBTA Communities Act, and the Affordable Homes Act are examples of the ideas that came together when we put our collective energy together toward combatting the housing crisis. This report, as well as pending bills in this legislative session and actions included in the Commonwealth’s recent released comprehensive housing plan, add new tools to the toolbox we already have at our disposal."

As a leader and innovator, MHP’s mission is to expand access to affordable housing and promote housing equity in communities across the Commonwealth. We are eager to partner with the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the legislature to takes these recommendations from the hypothetical to reality. What we do today will shape our state’s destiny for generations to come. Let the work begin.