Housing
In N.H., Questions About Whether Out-Of-State Pandemic Migrants Are Here To Stay
A year ago, people flocked to vacation towns in states like New Hampshire to flee COVID-19. For some, it was just a brief escape. But others settled into a rural lifestyle. The question now is how long these newcomers are going to stay. For five-year-old Joanna Shelov, coming to New Hampshire has meant a year…
Read MoreWhat We Talk About When We Talk About Affordable Housing
Affordable housing is the subject of a number of bills before Connecticut lawmakers. But what do we really mean when we talk about “affordable housing”? That conversation could start with a question much like the one from state Sen. Dan Champagne at a virtual Planning and Development public hearing last week. “Do you know how…
Read MoreA Triple-Decker For The 21st Century: Airtight And Solar-Powered
Standing in front of her three-level house in Somerville, Lena Sheehan looks down at the construction of a new high school and transportation hub just a block away. “I can’t get over it, I haven’t been here in so long,” she says. “This is the new T — isn’t that brilliant, right beside the house.”…
Read MoreMapping Project Explores Links Between Historic Redlining And Future Climate Vulnerability
The rain started just before Mother’s Day, in 2006. It fell for days over the Merrimack Valley, causing the worst flooding in decades. Water reached to rooftops. Pipes burst in Haverhill, pouring millions of gallons of sewage into the rising Merrimack River. Streets flooded, highways closed, thousands of people evacuated their homes. Andy Vargas was…
Read MoreAmid Climate Change Threats, Cape Planners Ask: Is It Time To Retreat From The Coast?
Catastrophic damage from climate change threatens coastal homes all over the Cape, and Islands, prompting regional planners to eye managed coastal retreat options Whenever a beachfront home goes on the market in Sandwich, it’s going to draw dozens of prospective buyers. “So this is all private beach, which people just love. They want their privacy.…
Read MoreAmericans Are Moving To Escape Climate Impacts. Towns Expect More To Come
The impacts of climate change could prompt millions of Americans to relocate in coming decades, moving inland away from rising seas, or north to escape rising temperatures. Judith and Doug Saum have moved already, recently leaving their home outside Reno, Nev. “It was with a view of the Sierra [Nevada Mountains] that was just to…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Closed Showers for the Homeless. Quick Thinkers Came to the Rescue.
This spring, precautions against COVID-19 closed some of the few showers open to people who are homeless and living outdoors, including one in the basement of the Duffy Health Center in Hyannis. Now, with a little ingenuity and some help from the state, showers are back — in a special trailer that meets COVID-19 protocol.…
Read MoreReturning to Maple Ave In Cambridge, Less Fear But Lots of Trepidation As Pandemic Rages On
Seven months ago, I walked up and down my block in Cambridge to find out how my neighbors were faring weeks into the lockdown ordered by Gov. Charlie Baker. Few people were wearing masks, but even fewer people were on the streets at that time. Quite a bit has changed on Maple Avenue since March.…
Read MoreSpurred By Pandemic, Buyers Scoop Up Homes And Massachusetts Prices Climb Higher
For most people, buying a home is not an easy thing to do. But Jennifer Brogan didn’t think it would be this hard. “I was hoping it would be like those HGTV episodes where you see like three houses and you get to pick the one you like the best, but that did not happen,”…
Read MoreDespite Eviction Ban, Some Landlords Pressure Tenants To Leave Amid Pandemic
When Marvin Moreno lost his job at a fish processing plant last spring, he knew he’d have to scramble to pay rent on the East Boston apartment he shared with his wife. He should have been OK for a while. That’s because a statewide ban on evictions was in place, to protect tenants like Moreno…
Read More