The Affordable Homes Act mandated that municipalities allow accessory dwelling units as-of-right with reasonable restructions; and it authorized EOHLC to draft regulations implementing this portion of the law. I was part of a team that engaged with building inspectors, ADU developers, local planning officials, and others to inform these regulations. They require municipalities to record a standard set of data elements and report them to the Commonwealth on a regular basis.  This will enablie EOHLC to collect information essential to understanding the success of the legislation as well as barriers that remain. Regulations went into effect on February 2, 2025.   

In June 2023, Governor Maura Healey created the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and instructed the newly-appointed Secretary to draft a funding and policy bill before the end of the calendar year. As one of the first staffmembers to join the Secretary's team, I supported drafting and refinement of the bill, which included the largest housing bond authorization in Commonwealth history as well as nearly fifty outside sections on policies ranging from accessory dwelling units to transfer fees and tenants' rights. I was also charged with estimating the bill's impacts for communication and advocacy purposes. I prepared a comprehensive analysis that estimated potential unit production, revenue creation, and economic impact of the bill. The content of this research report was the underpinning for key administration talking points and messaging. The Affordable Homes Act was adopted by large margins in the legislature and was signed into law by the Governor in August 2024.  

I initiated and led a research effort to assess the role of profit-driven investors in residential real estate transactions across Greater Boston. I directed the analysis of transaction-level sales data; reviewed results and identified key findings; and oversaw drafting of the final report. The analysis found that more than one fifth of all residential property sales are to an investor; it also validated concerns that investors making cash purchases in lower cost neighborhoods were effectively eliminating opportunities for affordable homeownership. While the final release of the research took place after I had left MAPC, I participated in the release event as a panelist. The report received extensive media coverage and prompted robust discussion about recommendations related to transfer fees and new capital funds to allow rapid-response acquisition of naturally-occuring affordable housing.  

A new law requires every MBTA community to allow multifamily zoning as-of-right while providing few specifics on implementation. I led an effort at MAPC to investigate and recommend regulatory approaches to advance housing affordability, equity, and sustainable transportation. A working paper outlines the benefits of a formula-based approach for setting requirements for district capacity, and makes other data-driven recommendations for effective implementation. I now oversee an effort to create a standardized analytical toolbox to support MAPC's 3A rezoning efforts in any municipality. 

The Commonwealth Builder program provides subsidies for new-construction middle income housing in Gateway Cities, as a strategy to help close the racial homeownership gap. Under contract to MassHousing, I designed and directed a baseline analysis of middle-income affordability across the state. Using property transaction records, our team estimated which sales would have been attainable for middle income households. Using information about local demographics and homebuyer attributes, we estimated “latent demand” for middle income ownership units in each municipality. Our analysis found that Gateway Cities–the focus of the program’s funds already have above average middle income affordability and rates of homeownership by people of color. However, attainable units are being rapidly acquired and upscaled. We conclude that acquisition of naturally occurring affordable housing and subsidies for new units in exclusive suburban municipalities should be considered as parallel strategies.

During the pandemic, state agencies needed information about how many renters were newly unable to pay the rent, and where they lived. Beginning in March 2020, I led an ongoing research initiative to gauge the scale of the housing affordability crisis resulting from COVID-related layoffs in Massachusetts. Working with senior staff, I co-designed and directed a model that incorporated detailed data on unemployment claims, occupational wages, housing costs and household expenditures, and supplemental federal support to estimate the number of households likely to fall behind on rent or mortgages as a result of unemployment. The analysis was updated periodically with the issuance of new unemployment statistics and to account for changes in government support. It became the definitive estimate of households ‘at risk’ of eviction in Massachusetts and was incorporated into the Baker Administration’s Eviction Diversion Initiative as well as funding formulas for COVID relief. I provided expert testimony on the topic of housing instability for the office of Attorney General Maura Healey in a legal challenge to the state's eviction moratorium. 

Concern about new housing’s effect on local school enrollment and budgets is a perennial concern in Massachusetts. I designed and directed a rapid-response research effort to examine the relationship between building permits and school enrollment in 234 school districts over a 15-year period from 2000 to 2016. The analysis documented no meaningful correlation between housing growth and enrollment growth, and the resulting research brief was the subject of multiple press stories and continues to be cited by local advocates. 

The paltry supply of new housing with three or more bedrooms is a topic of major concern in Boston and adjacent communities. I initiated and led a research effort to examine current occupancy patterns of the region’s “family-sized” housing units (three-plus bedrooms), how the demand for such units has changed over the last twenty years, and forecasted turnover of such units in the coming years. We found that the majority of large units are occupied by households of only one or two persons, mostly seniors; and that the lack of smaller units may be forcing younger residents into roommate households that can easily outbid most families for the available large rental units. The report received extensive press and has become an important reference for local housing officials and stakeholders.

Under contract to the Boston chapter of the Urban Land Institute, I led a research effort to assess the existing and anticipated housing challenges facing middle-income households in Massachusetts. Our team analyzed occupation, wage, and household income changes since 1990 and developed novel methods for estimating future household income based on industry forecasts. We estimated net middle income housing demand after accounting for turnover of existing stock. I wrote and edited reports and summary materials used for widespread dissemination.