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Managing Neighborhood Change Toolkit: Local Project Work

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Applying national and other best practices at the local level, MAPC has completed work for several metropolitan area municipalities to address the impacts of major local investments. Projects range from technical analysis of anticipated neighborhood change prompted by the Green Line extension in Somerville to an anti-displacement plan for the Shirley Avenue neighborhood in Revere. Projects include an analysis of strategies to prevent displacement and harness the positive impacts of neighborhood change for a broad spectrum of residents.

Chelsea Silver Line Corridor Transit-Oriented Development Action Plan

The City of Chelsea could undergo significant neighborhood change with the extension of the Silver Line and adjacent shared-use path. The city and the region will benefit from five additional stations connecting people to jobs in the Seaport and Downtown Boston (through the East Boston Blue Line connection). Service is expected to begin in 2016, while the greenway will be constructed in 2017.

In 2015, the City partnered with MAPC to develop an Action Plan that will ensure the forthcoming Silver Line and the investment it spurs promote fair access to housing, jobs, and other amenities in alignment with city and community values. The plan will outline short- and long-term steps for advancing equitable transit-oriented development (TOD) along the corridor, and draft zoning language to be presented for adoption by June 2016. It will be informed by a robust public process, including forums, focus groups, interviews, and other engagement.

In addition to analysis of existing conditions, land use, transportation infrastructure, residential and commercial markets, and health impacts, the plan will include an assessment of how the corridor might change with the Silver Line extension and strategies to manage that change so as to more equitably distribute the benefits of new investment among people of all walks of life.

Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030

Jenny Raitt, Assistant Director of Land Use Planning and Chief Housing Planner of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, sat on Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s Housing Task Force 2014. In that role, she guided development of the city’s housing strategy, Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030. In accordance with a vision for an equitable and diverse city, the plan aims to establish housing policies and programs that will support housing preservation and production of 53,000 new housing units by 2030. This includes housing for low-income and middle-income households, for seniors, and for students.

Salem Point Neighborhood Commercial Corridors Revitalization Plan

The Point neighborhood in Salem is characterized by its accessibility, vibrancy, ethnic diversity, significant supply of affordable housing, and immigrant-owned small businesses. In 2014, MAPC and the North Shore Community Development Corporation undertook a Salem Point Neighborhood Commercial Corridors Revitalization Plan to advance the housing and economic development vision outlined in the Salem Point Neighborhood Vision and Action Plan (2013). The Revitalization Plan evaluates the retail market, housing, and mixed-use redevelopment potential of parcels in the Congress and Lafayette Street corridors. It aims to boost economic activity, inclusivity, and connectivity in the Point. Towards that end, the plan outlines a set of goals and strategies to encourage greater public and private investment in the corridors while mitigating the displacement of current residents and businesses.

Everett Housing Production Plan

In January 2014, the City of Everett engaged MAPC to develop a Housing Production Plan (the HPP) that will help address need and demand over the next five years. Everett is a dense city with a growing population and number of households and increasing household size. Since 2000, the white population has declined from 75% to 50% of the total, while the minority population has proportionately increased. The housing stock is predominantly single-family homes, majority rental, and among the oldest in the Inner Core. More than half of households are cost-burden and more than half of households are categorized as low income. Meanwhile, sale prices are increasing and rental rates, though relatively low for the sub-region, exceed HUD-calculated fair market rents (except for efficiency units). The city does not meet the State-mandated 10% target of affordable housing.

The HPP establishes eight goals and myriad strategies aimed at preserving and increasing the city’s housing stock accessible to low- and moderate-income households. This includes achieving preservation and production goals; directing funding and programs to address unmet need; minimizing the displacement of lower-income Everett households and businesses; promoting healthy housing and living; ensuring adequate zoning regulations and policies to advance housing development; building community awareness of housing issues and activities, and engaging community development partners; improving existing and building new infrastructure to facilitate housing development; and leveraging new funding sources for affordable housing development.

Managing Change in Somerville: Impacts of the Green Line Extension

The Green Line Extension (GLX) through the City of Somerville will dramatically improve transit mobility in the area. New growth attracted to Somerville may expand housing opportunities, increase ridership and fare revenue, and bolster municipal finances with new tax revenue. However, previous experience in Somerville and across the country suggests that the creation of new transit service may also result in unintended negative consequences if rising rents and land values cause the displacement of the low- and moderate-income residents who comprise the “core users” of public transit.

To better understand this phenomenon, MAPC completed an analysis on the neighborhood changes that may occur in Somerville as a result of the GLX. Rent increases and the conversion of rental units to condominiums are the most significant mechanisms of potential displacement; but the greatest threat to overall affordability is slow housing production. MAPC estimates demand for 6,300 to 9,000 new housing units in Somerville by the year 2030; if new supply cannot keep up with this demand, prices may rise even further, making it more difficult for low-income families to move to or stay in Somerville.

This work was informed by a month-long discussion series co-hosted by the City of Somerville, the Somerville Community Corporation, and MAPC. Participants explored housing needs, affordability, gentrification, and strategies for an effective housing agenda to promote housing for all in the city. Community members discussed topics ranging from family housing to gentrification and displacement.

The first forum began with a talk by Rachel Bratt, a professor emeritus at Tufts University, about what constitutes family-friendly housing. Affordable, good quality, safe, comfortable, transit-oriented, and accessible to good schools were some attributes attendees agreed on. The second half of the night was spent discussing how the City and its community partners can develop more housing that matches this description.

The next meeting included a presentation by Tim Reardon, Assistant Director of Data Services at MAPC, on the “Dimensions of Displacement” report, which explores anticipated impacts of the Green Line extension on the Somerville housing market in new station areas. Participants discussed what gentrification is and why it happens, and how the community can work together to ensure changes coming to Somerville benefit all segments of the city’s population.

At the third and final forum, community leaders shared the housing themes that emerged during discussions at the previous two meetings, and then attendees participated in small groups to prioritize those issues. Discussion later explored how the City and its partners can use various strategies and best practices to tackle them, from inclusionary zoning to acquisition of land near new Green Line stations for developers to create affordable housing.

The series revealed the community’s fervent desire to maintain Somerville’s diversity, vibrancy, and sense of community in the face of current and future neighborhood change. By acting early and assertively, Somerville is positioned to welcome change in transformative areas of the city without sacrificing what makes it so desirable in the first place. And a vocal and invested constituency, including those who came out to shape Somerville’s housing agenda, must see that it does.

The final report estimates the magnitude of the displacement risk through a variety of mechanisms so that the City and community partners can focus efforts on mitigation strategies likely to be most effective. This work intends to provide local officials, leaders, and community members in Somerville with a set of indicators of neighborhood change, a mechanism to track change over time, and the appropriate tools to mitigate change. The indicators measure the city’s demographic diversity, housing cost burden, auto ownership and usage, and livability.

Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund Health Impact Assessment

MAPC conducted a health impact analysis (HIA) to examine the potential health effects that could result from investments made by the Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund, a $30 million private equity fund created by the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC). The model considers the community, environmental, and health benefits of a proposed project, as well as the financial risks and returns. The HIA examines three transit-oriented development projects in the City of Boston as case studies, and considers anticipated social and economic changes in a community as a result of new investment, such as those prompted by HNEF work.

Community Investment Tax Credit Health Impact Assessment

In collaboration with Health Resources in Action (HRiA) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), MAPC conducted a health impact analysis (HIA) to assess the effects of a new funding opportunity for community development corporations (CDCs). As the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) developed the Community Investment Tax Credit Grant Program (CITC Grant Program), it sought to better understand connections between community development activities and health. The HIA explores these connections and identifies health metrics (health outcomes that result from the investment of tax credits in communities) that can be evaluated with information provided by CDCs to assess the impacts of new investment over time.

Shirley Avenue Housing & Economic Development Analysis

The Shirley Avenue neighborhood in Revere is a diverse low-income community located in close proximity to Revere Beach, an area where the City is aggressively pursuing development. In order for this neighborhood to benefit from new development, it was critical for the community to come together to put an action plan in place. The plan includes many anti-displacement strategies, especially related to the maintenance and preservation of affordable housing and the stabilization of the local business corridor.

With funding provided by grants from the District Local Technical Assistance program, the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Gateway Cities Housing Planning Grant, and the Herman and Frieda L. Miller Foundation, MAPC worked with The Neighborhood Developers (TND), the City of Revere, and Madden Planning Group to conduct a housing and economic development analysis as part of a neighborhood action plan led by TND. All project partners participated in a community planning process through the facilitation of meetings and community outreach and conversations. Over 120 residents participated in five community meetings where they helped devise an action plan for the Shirley Avenue neighborhood that improves the community in four key topic areas: housing, economic development, quality of life, and infrastructure. Many other residents participated in the process through Steering Committee membership and Task Force membership, as well as through surveys and online comments.

In May of 2014, the final community-driven action plan was presented. Mayor Daniel Rizzo and all participating organizations and residents signed onto the plan, affirming their commitment to implement it. This plan will serve as the guide for neighborhood improvements going forward. The housing and economic development analysis included in this plan outlines existing conditions in the Shirley Avenue neighborhood and includes preliminary recommendations for action steps based on key data findings and input from the community. The research and recommendations provided in this analysis will be incorporated into the forthcoming community plan.

Mystic Valley Parkway Green Line Extension Community Visioning Process

MAPC led a community visioning process to examine how a future Mystic Valley Parkway station could foster transit-oriented development in the area, while minimizing negative impacts on the local community. Chapter 5 of this report specifically addressed displacement mitigation strategies that would enable current residents to benefit from the Green Line Extension.

Local Community-Based Organizations Working on Neighborhood Change

Other community-based organizations working to address neighborhood change in and around Boston include:

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Managing Neighborhood Change Toolkit: Long-Term Affordability Strategies

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Municipalities can implement multiple strategies to create and preserve long-term affordability. In so doing, thye promote opportunities for lower-income residents of neighborhoods where investments are being made to stay and access the benefits of neighborhood change, such as improved housing and job opportunities and access to transit.

MAPC’s Managing Neighborhood Change: Selected Anti-Displacement Strategies in Practice toolkit provides an overview of approaches utilized by various practitioners throughout the country. Here, example strategies for consideration by cities and towns interested in managing neighborhood change. Brief descriptions of each anti-displacement strategy are accompanied by links to full explanations of the tools and case studies where they’ve been employed.

Development without Displacement

PolicyLink and the Chicago Rehab Network have published online resources that promote the adoption of “development without displacement” (D w/o D) policies in order to equitable manage neighborhood change. These policies, also referred as anti-displacement policies, intend to find ways to include the costs of displacement in redevelopment.

Community Benefits Agreements

Community Benefits Agreements are contracts executed between community-based organizations and one or more developers. Similar to Developer’s Agreements, they are intended to outline the developers’ commitment to provide a range of benefits to the community to offset the potential impacts associated with the proposed development.

Condominium Conversion Ordinances in Massachusetts

Massachusetts General Law (M.G.L.) 183A enables cities and towns to adopt local ordinances and bylaws that regulate condominium conversion more strongly than the statewide law. MAPC contacted several communities that have passed local condominium conversion ordinances to learn more about how local ordinances have been enforced and/or modified over time.

One for One Affordable Housing Replacement Ordinances

In researching one for one affordable housing replacement ordinances, MAPC identified a number of instances in which the legality of the ordinances has been contested. Several states have passed enabling legislation and/or policies that support these ordinances.

Workforce Development Strategies

Workforce development strategies can be used to support neighborhood revitalization and the retention of small and local businesses. MAPC assembled a summary of two organizations’ track records in fostering and retaining local businesses.

District of Columbia Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA)

TOPA stipulates that owners of residential properties must “give the tenant an opportunity to purchase the accommodation at a price and terms which represent a bona fide offer of sale”¬ before they may transfer the property to a third party. D.C. is the only city in the United States with this type of ordinance.

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Managing Neighborhood Change: How To Measure Neighborhood Change

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Communities where neighborhood change is anticipated can prepare by identifying the appropriate indicators and measuring them over time to determine which strategies or interventions are needed to manage change that has an adverse impact on lower-income populations or neighborhoods. First, municipalities must establish a current demographic and residential baseline. Second, they must observe and monitor any changes to this baseline. This can be done, as it was in Somerville, by tracking data that measures the municipality’s demographic diversity, housing cost burden, livability, auto ownership, and travel behavior. Importantly, these indicators aim to distinguish between natural housing turnover and displacement as a result of decreasing affordability, both of which can be a consequence of neighborhood change. Together, the following indicators can help position municipalities to better understand how they are changing and, in doing so, plan to capitalize on new investment and mitigate any negative impacts.

Demographics & Migration

Economic Diversity

Number and share of low-income households in the municipality, and share relative to the sub-region and/or region

A decrease in economic diversity as a result of increasing rents and a restricted rental supply, for example, would be a negative impact of neighborhood change. Tracking the number and share of low-income households can help gauge the degree to which displacement or replacement is occurring and whether existing mitigation strategies are effective. A stable or increasing number of low-income households indicates a low rate of displacement or replacement by higher-income households; a declining number may mean such processes are underway. A stable or increasing share of low-income households means that the municipality has created new affordable housing opportunities.

Data Source: Estimates of the number of low-income households (earning 80% of area median income or below) are published by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy dataset (CHAS).

Racial and Ethnic Diversity

Municipality’s population of color (number and share), and share relative to the sub-region and/or region

While displacement is largely driven by income disparities, the fact that higher-income households are disproportionately white and lower-income households are disproportionately non-white means that displacement risk also carries implications for the racial diversity of a community. A stable or increasing number of residents of color in a municipality indicates a low rate of displacement or replacement by white residents; a declining number may mean such processes are underway. An increasing share of a municipality’s population of color indicates increasing diversity; a decreasing share means that relatively fewer residents of color have access to the municipality.

Data Source: US Census

Migration

Lower-income households as a share of all out-migrant households and as a share of all in-migrant households; non-white individuals as a share of all out-migrants and as a share of all in-migrants

The composition of in- and out-migrants to a municipality has a substantial impact on its demographics. Changes in the characteristics of in-migrants could cause a rapid demographic transition, even if the pace of outmigration remains constant. If low-income households and people of color begin moving out of a municipality at a higher rate, then those populations will dwindle. An increasing share of moderate-to-high-income households or white, non-Hispanic people among in-migrants—and in particular a greater share relative to the current population—indicates that demographic replacement is occurring. Conversely, an increase in the share of low-income households and people of color among the out-migrants is a clear indication of displacement.

Data Source: Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)

Housing & Households

Housing Cost Burden

Percent of low-income households with high housing cost burden, number of low-income households not cost burdened, and rate of cost-burdened low-income households relative to the sub-region and region

The size of the population most vulnerable to displacement could itself change over time, perhaps due to rising local housing costs or broader economic shifts. If the share of lower-income households who are cost burdened (meaning they pay 30% or more of their annual household income on housing costs) rises, then this population is facing increasing difficulty finding housing that is affordable to them. If the share declines, it could mean that lower-income households are more easily managing to secure housing they can afford. However, it could also mean that such households have left the municipality. Consequently, we suggest also tracking the number of non-cost burdened low-income households. An increase in this number means that more low-income households can stay in the city without being unduly strained by high housing costs. It is also revealing to compare incidence of cost burden to the sub-region and region in order to determine if the municipality is following regional trends or becoming more of an outlier.

Data Source: American Community Survey

Families with Children

Number of families with children; municipality’s share of sub-region and region’s families with children

Real estate trends in transit-oriented areas can make it difficult for families to secure housing that meets their needs and that they can afford. Development of smaller units and subdivision of large homes into multiple condominiums may result in a limited stock of family-friendly housing. While smaller units can be an appropriate and desirable choice for single people, young professionals, and seniors, they often do not provide enough space for households with children. Meanwhile, larger housing units in these areas tend to be high-cost options. Tracking families with children increases understanding of how the changing housing stock is accommodating this subset of the population.  A smaller number of families with children in the municipality means that this population is on the decline. Since the number of such households is likely to decline region-wide as a result of broader trends towards shrinking household size, it is also useful to compare figures at the municipal level to those at the sub-regional and regional to see if the local decline is occurring at a faster rate.

Data Source: Decennial Census

Equitable Homeownership

Homeownership gap between white and non-white households, and relative to the sub-region and/or region

Renter households are particularly vulnerable to displacement as housing markets experience inflation. Since people of color make up a disproportionate share of renter households, they are at a greater risk. Therefore, homeownership rates should be calculated for white and minority households, followed by the gap between them (for example, subtract the percentage of Hispanic householders who own from that of white, non-Hispanic householders). A greater parity in homeownership rates between whites and people of color means that this inequity is on the decline, while an increase in the discrepancy means it is increasing.

Data Source: Decennial Census

Designated Affordable Housing

Number and share of deed restricted affordable housing units in the municipality, and number and share of affordable units that could expire (i.e. are not affordable in perpetuity)

Designated affordable housing is a critical resource for low-income households. If the absolute number of deed-restricted affordable units in a municipality is rising and that figure as a share of total units is stable, then the municipality is at least keeping pace with, if not reducing, the scale of the affordability challenge relative to its overall population growth. If the absolute number of subsidized units is growing but its share of total units is declining, then the municipality should consider strategies to increase affordable housing production. If the number and share of affordable units are both decreasing, major efforts are needed. Such a decrease could be a consequence of expiring affordable units; municipalities should be forward-thinking and take note of units that are not affordable in perpetuity.

Data Source: MA Department of Housing and Community Development Chapter 40B Subsidized Housing Inventory, Census housing unit count

Transportation

Vehicle Ownership and Mileage

Registered vehicles per household and vehicles miles traveled per household

If neighborhood change is prompted by investment in public transit infrastructure, then a decrease in the rate of vehicle ownership per household would indicate reduced dependence on automobiles and an increase in attractive alternative transit modes. Meanwhile, an increasing vehicle ownership rate indicates that transit options are not sufficiently meeting resident need, or that high-income, less transit-dependent households make up an increasing share of the population. Estimated daily mileage per household indicates actual vehicle usage; a decline over time would indicate improved alternative transit modes.

Data Source: Massachusetts Vehicle Census (MAPC)

Commute Mode Share

Percent of workers commuting by car, transit, bike, and foot

An increase in the share of workers commuting by transit, bike, or foot indicates that people are able to reduce their dependence on private vehicles for commuting to work, which is the trip purpose that accounts for the largest share of unique riders on public transit. Commuting via public transit has vastly outweighed commuting by bike or foot for the last several decades, and all three modes tend to rise and fall in tandem because the conditions that support transit usage are strongly related to those that support biking or walking to work. This indicator should be evaluated in conjunction with an awareness of broad economic conditions, however, as events such as a recession or a spike in gasoline prices can also result in modal shifts.

Data Source: American Community Survey

Transit Commute Times

Average commute time for municipality’s transit commuters; percent of transit commutes 30 minutes or longer; percent of transit commutes to jobs within the municipality 30 minutes or longer

Often, areas with rail transit are served by public buses. Because of longer wait times and more frequent stops, bus commutes typically take more time than rail commutes. In theory, the introduction of rail transit would shorten commute times for residents in close proximity to station areas. Commute time to employment within the municipality indicates whether transit is a viable option for job-holders.

Data Source: American Community Survey

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Managing Neighborhood Change Toolkit: Anti-Displacement Literature Review

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MAPC’s first phase of neighborhood change research included a literature review of academic and non-academic reports released in the past decade that outline anti-displacement polices and strategies grounded in successful case studies. This information was organized into a matrix that catalogues the research by geographic scale (neighborhood, city/town, or regional), by recommended methods, and by recommended policies and strategies employed in case studies. The matrix appears below; follow the links for more information.

For more information about the research, specific recommendations, and case studies, click on a given title and refer to the annotated bibliography of this literature review.

Research

Overview

Recommendations
Dealing with Neighborhood Change: A Primer on Gentrification and Policy Choices. The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy and PolicyLink (April 2001). This report explores recent gentrification dynamics in Atlanta, the San Francisco Bay Area, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C. The authors recommend strategies to address high metropolitan housing prices, short supply of housing compared to job growth, and the need for housing near jobs.
Development without Displacement Task Force Background Paper. The Chicago Rehab Network, The Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement (1995). In this paper, researchers outline approaches, policies, strategies, and programs addressing the issue of development without displacement at the federal and city levels, with a focus on Chicago. Researchers explore municipal programs and strategies to prevent displacement and preserve affordable housing.
Equitable Development Tools to Mitigate Residential Displacement Due to Gentrification: Case Studies of Three Atlanta Neighborhoods. Kaycee Elizabeth Mertz (2008). This study uses Policy Link’s Equitable Development Toolkit (2008) as a model for evaluating the City of Atlanta’s efforts to reduce residential displacement due to gentrification. The author’s strategies range from enacting inclusionary zoning to establishing community land trusts.
In the Face of Gentrification: Case Studies of Local Efforts to Mitigate Displacement. Levy, Comey, and Padilla for the Urban Institute (2006). This report outlines anti-displacement strategies pertaining to housing and asset building in St. Petersburg, FL, Sacramento, CA, Atlanta, GA, Los Angeles, CA, Seattle, WA, and Chicago, IL. The author analyzes tools for the production and financing of affordable housing and tools to build assets for low- and moderate-income residents.
Managing Neighborhood Change: A Framework for Sustainable and Equitable Revitalization. Mallach, Alan (2008). This report outlines strategies for managing neighborhood change to achieve sustainable and equitable revitalization. Strategies to increase neighborhood stability, preserve and expand affordable housing, and prevent involuntary displacement are recommended.
Maintaining Diversity In America’s Transit-Rich Neighborhoods: Tools for Equitable Neighborhood Change. Pollack, Bluestone, and Billingham (2010). The study team identified indicators of neighborhood change and applied them to new transit stations to explore gentrification and displacement. The authors analyze municipal planning tools, such as community benefits agreements and transit corridor planning; and housing market tools, including Housing Trust Funds and TOD Tax Increment Financing Districts.
Mixed-Income Transit Oriented Development Action Guide.  Reconnecting America and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development. The goal of this guide is to help practitioners identify the most appropriate and effective planning tools for achieving MITOD in transit station areas. Recommended tools include transfer taxes, limited equity co-cops, land banking, and incentive-based zoning.
Neighborhood Renewal. D.C. Heath and Company. Clay, Philip (1979). The author provides an overview of the characteristics of key actors in and emerging issues pertaining to gentrification and upgrading neighborhoods. Recommendations include strategies to preserve existing housing stock for low- and moderate-income families include municipal subsidies for renovation, delay of tax assessment increases, and sanctions and incentives to realtors and bankers.
Preserving Affordability and Access in Livable Communities: Subsidized housing opportunities near transit and the 50+ population. AARP Public Policy Institute. Harrell, R., Brooks, A. & Nedwick, T. (2009). This report identifies the policy and program interventions that influence the trajectory of community development, transportation planning, and investment. Research focuses on subsidized affordable housing properties serving older persons.

 

 

 Recommendations include national and state strategies to preserve affordable housing, integrate transit and land use planning in funding criteria for affordable housing and transportation investments, and approaches to senior populations.
Preventing Displacement Policy Fact Sheet. Great Communities Toolkit (2007). This fact sheet identifies four types of displacement—direct and indirect residential displacement and direct and indirect commercial displacement—and discusses mitigation measures.

 

 Tools for preventing displacement include rent control, condo conversion ordinance, real estate transfer tax, jobs/housing linkage fees, and tax increment financing from redevelopment funds.
Promoting Neighborhood Diversity: Benefits, barriers and strategies. The Urban Institute. Turner, M. A. & Rawlings, L. (2009). This report makes recommendations pertaining to federal enforcement to monitor real estate practices at the local level, public education, affordable housing development incentives, and reinvestment. Recommendations include enforcement to combat persistent discrimination, affordable housing development to open up exclusive communities, and reinvestment to equalize the quality of minority neighborhoods.
Discourses and Experiences of Social Six in Gentrifying Neighborhoods: A Montréal Case Study. Canadian Journal of Urban Research. Rose, Damaris (2006).

 

 This study features interviews with new infill condo owners in gentrifying neighborhoods of Montreal, with a focus on how they feel about diversity and affordable housing in their communities. The primary recommendation is to pursue low- and moderate-cost infill affordable housing development at the municipal level.
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Managing Neighborhood Change: Anti-Displacement Strategies Toolkit

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MAPC’s Managing Neighborhood Change: Selected Anti-Displacement Strategies in Practice toolkit supports MetroFuture’s Housing Choices goals and strategies for the MAPC regionby providing information on anti-displacement best practices and examples of local strategies in action. These strategies are intended to advance the interests of lower-income individuals and families who are at risk of displacement from their neighborhoods due to new investment in housing, businesses, and infrastructure, including transit. This toolkit is based on a comprehensive literature review of academic and non-academic reports released over the last 10 years. It uses data, case studies, and planning project work to understand indicators of displacement and create a responsive framework that integrates them into planning policies and programs.

The first phase of MAPC’s anti-displacement work, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Regional Planning Grant for Sustainable Communities, developed a catalogue of best practices to manage neighborhood change and ensure development without displacement across the country. This work informed the creation of transit-oriented development funds in Metro Boston, and the pursuit of specific policies and strategies in Somerville and Medford in anticipation of the MBTA Green Line Extension.

The second phase, funded by HUD, the Herman and Frieda L. Miller Foundation, and the District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) Fund, further explored these strategies through individual project work in different communities within the MAPC region in order to fine tune interventions and local policies. This includes continued work with the City of Somerville and the Somerville Community Corporation, and the development of Revere’s Shirley Avenue Neighborhood Action Plan with The Neighborhood Developers and the City of Revere.

During the third phase of work, funded by the Barr Foundation, MAPC staff updated and refined this Toolkit to augment it with ideas from throughout the nation, to reflect recent experience here in Metro Boston, and to make it more user-friendly. We are also actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with additional municipalities and community-based organizations to analyze displacement pressures and implement anti-displacement policies and programs. Already, LISC, MHIC, other participants in the Gentrification Learning Community, and community-based organizations in the municipalities where we focus, such as The Neighborhood Developers in Chelsea, are important partners in both testing and disseminating the toolkit. These efforts will result in more work to avoid displacement during neighborhood change, but will also generate additional experience and best practices for MAPC to share through this toolkit.

Managing Neighborhood Change Toolkit Sections

Why It’s Important

Anti-displacement strategies can help communities manage neighborhood change resulting from new investment in housing, businesses, and infrastructure representative of increased market demand. Doing so can help mitigate the impacts of such change on lower-income households in particular, helping to distribute the benefits of new investment among all members of a community. It is important to note that no one single anti-displacement strategy can mitigate the negative consequences of neighborhood change on its own. Several strategies and policies should likely be implemented to have the greatest effect.

Questions?

For additional information, please contact Chief Housing Planner Karina Milchman at [email protected]

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Low Impact Development Toolkit

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SEA Street, Seattle WA LID Retrofit

State standards and EPA’s Phase II rules have made stormwater a critical development issue, and many cities and towns are now considering local stormwater bylaws to expand and centralize local authority.

However, communities and developers are looking for alternatives to conventional “pipe and pond” stormwater controls, which are often considered unsightly, expensive, and ineffective. Meanwhile, combined sewer overflows are forcing municipalities to address runoff from densely developed areas.

Low Impact Development

Low Impact Development (LID) is a more sustainable land development approach that begins with a site planning process that first identifies critical natural resource areas for preservation. LID ensures that maintenance of natural drainage flow paths, minimization of land clearance, building clustering, and impervious surface reduction are incorporated into the project design. LID includes a specific set of strategies that treat stormwater management at the site level, ensuring that water is managed locally rather than engineering the discharge of water away from its source.

Stormwater detail

Low impact techniques are used nationwide, with an established set of design and performance standards that can be applied to achieve compliance with state and local codes.

Increasing interest in low impact strategies has created a growing demand for LID-proficient designers for both new construction and retrofit efforts.

Low Impact Development (LID) Toolkit

The MAPC Low Impact Development Toolkit builds from the efforts of the State’s Smart Growth/Smart Energy Toolkit, providing a practical set of visual fact sheets on Low Impact Development methods including rain gardens, bioretention, pervious pavement, and green roofs. The toolkit also includes model bylaw language and an LID codes checklist.

LID Toolkit Fact Sheets

For more information about the LID toolkit, please e-mail [email protected].

This publication is one component of the Massachusetts Low Impact Development Toolkit, produced by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, in coordination with the I-495 MetroWestCorridor Partnership, and with financial support from United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Massachusetts Low Impact Development Interagency Working Group provided valuable input and feedback on the LID Toolkit.

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Walking Routes to the Lower Mystic River

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Project Background

Sign welcoming walkers to the Malden River

MAPC has been working with Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford and Somerville to identify potential walking routes that would connect neighborhoods with the lower Mystic River and its tributaries (Chelsea Creek, Mill Creek, Island End River and the Malden River). This project is called “Walking Routes to the River.”

To date, the work has resulted in a map entitled “Locally Identified Potential Walking Routes to the Lower Mystic and Tributaries” and three signed and mapped routes ready for public use.

MAPC’s Role

Blueback Herring River Route sign

MAPC plays two important roles. The first is a coordinating and technical assistance role to keep the project moving forward by providing a structure and securing funding.

The second role is to provide a regional perspective and to combine the efforts of individual communities and organizations into a regional system.

Why it’s important

Rivers are unique resources for any urban area.  They are usually rich in history and important as wildlife corridors and for active and passive recreation.  The purpose of developing walking routes to the river is to bring residents from the neighborhoods where they live and work to the river.  Some of the benefits of walking routes to the river include:

  • Higher visibility for the Mystic River and the recreational resources that exist.
  • Higher visibility means more people who care about the river and will advocate for it.
  • Health and fitness benefits of promoting walking – less obesity, car pollution, decreased risk of disease.
  • Potential economic benefits if routes help people walk by local businesses.
  • Programming around walking routes such as organized walks promote a sense of community.

Project Documents

How to Develop Walking Routes to the Lower Mystic River and its Tributaries: A Tool Kit.

Maps

Potential Walking Routes in Chelsea

Potential Walking Routes in Everett

Potential Walking Routes in Medford

Potential Walking Routes in Somerville

 

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Parking Issues and Questions

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Identify Strategies Based on Your Issues and Questions

Both information and local values come into play in identifying parking needs in your community. The checklist below is designed to provide a list of common concerns – more than one probably applies in your community. Clinking on any link will provide a more detailed description of the issue and its roots and strategies that may help in its resolution.

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Eliminating Minimum Parking Requirements

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When Required Minimums Do More Harm Than Good

Minimum parking requirements are so prevalent that eliminating them may seem like heresy, but these requirements may be limiting downtown redevelopment or increasing the cost of providing affordable housing. In some situations, the best way to address this is simply to eliminate minimum parking requirements for certain land uses or certain areas, such as in the downtown, near transit stations, or for affordable housing developments.

The key to success when eliminating minimum parking requirements is to minimize the potential for spillover effects – this is, after all, what the minimum requirements are intended to do – and ensure that there are other ways for people to access the site. Having some paid parking garages or lots nearby that are not at full capacity and access to the site via non-auto modes increase the chances of success. However, even if those pieces are in place, there will likely still be a need to control spillover effects. One of the main concerns is generally spillover into nearby residential districts’ on-street parking. This can be addressed with a residential permit parking program. Residents may resist the transition to permit parking, but one way to win them over is through residential parking benefit districts, which charge non-residents to park in unused resident spaces, and invest some of the revenue in neighborhood improvement projects.

On non-residential streets, eliminating minimum parking requirements without charging for on-street parking can lead to a shortage of curb parking spaces, and the associated problems with drivers circling endlessly seeking a space, even when there are many spaces available in nearby parking garages. One solution to that problem is to charge for on-street parking. The revenue collected from on-street meters can be used to pay for the costs of operating parking and for other traffic management-related activities (see M.G.L. Ch.40, §22A), and if the district is hesitant to install meters, the municipality may be able to make an arrangement to invest part of the revenue from the meters in traffic- and parking-related improvements in the district (see parking benefit districts).

Another concern is that if new developments (or redevelopments) are not required to provide parking where previous developments were, the burden of providing parking may be unfairly distributed on the properties that have been there longer. If this is a concern, one alternative is to maintain required minimums but allow developers to pay a fee in lieu of each required space not provided, with the fees to be used for providing public parking. Another alternative is to allow those with an existing parking supply that exceeds their needs to rent or sell it to newcomers who can’t add parking to their sites.  In some cases, developers may be constrained by requirements from lenders that they provide a certain amount of parking.

If your community is not ready to drop minimum parking requirements altogether, other options include establishing flexible parking requirements, setting parking maximums in addition to minimums, allowing spaces to be held in landscaped reserves, and allowing developers to pay a fee in lieu of providing spaces.

Local examples:
  • The Middleborough Town Manager reported at the Massachusetts Smart Growth Conference in December 2006 that a change to the Town’s zoning code to waive parking requirements for residential units on the second or third story of a downtown building if the building is within a quarter mile of a public parking area available for overnight parking. Because of this policy, the Town has been able to assist building owners to secure 4 different Housing Development Support Grants, creating 25 affordable housing units downtown. The Town Manager credited this change and the additional revenue from upper-story residential units with allowing the property owners to keep street-level retail rents low, increasing property value and property tax revenues, and helping downtown businesses to succeed.
  • The Town of Ipswich does not require parking for developments in the CBD or within 500 feet of municipal parking
  • The Town of Salem does not require parking for places of worship, secondary schools and places of higher education, or non-residential uses in the B-5 District
  • The Town of Gloucester does not require parking for certain uses within 400 feet of a municipal parking facility
National examples:
  • A number of cities across the country have also eliminated required minimums in the Central Business District, including San Francisco and Portland, Oregon.

Additional resources:

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WaterSmart Toolkit

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Working in collaboration with the 495/MetroWest Partnership, MAPC developed the WaterSmart Toolkit, which provides guidance to communities on best practices for addressing storm water, water supply, and wastewater issues. Although the toolkit was developed in collaboration with the 495/MetroWest communities, it is applicable to cities and towns throughout the MAPC region and the state.

The components of the WaterSmart Toolkit include several publications available for download, on CD, and as hard copy documents upon request.

SummerSmart Water Use Guide to Peak Season Water Demand Management (May 2006)

SummerSmart is a guide to managing peak season water demand, including tools such as water pricing, local regulations, and public education. Case studies are included.

Once is Not Enough: A Guide to Water Reuse in Massachusetts

Once is Not Enough: A Guide to Water Reuse in Massachusetts provides an overview of the technical, economic, and regulatory aspects of reusing treated wastewater for nonpotable water uses, such as toilet flushing, landscape irrigation, and industrial process water. Several local and regional case studies are included.

495 Watermarks Brochure (November 2007)

Watermarks 495 is a report that summarizes trends in water demand, wastewater, and storm water for the 32 communities in the 495/MetroWest corridor.

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