Boston's Housing Squeeze

Boston is one of the East Coast's most vibrant cities, known for its pivotal role as a hub of education and innovation. Every year, the city draws in the next wave of students and professionals, but this surge of newcomers has come at a cost for people who for decades have called Boston their home. One word: Rent. It is a sore subject across major cities in the US, but in Boston, these rising prices are not impacting all residents equally. 

To understand the impact of the housing crisis, it is important to recognize its emergence as an accumulation of economic, legal, and social decisions over time. As a result of this, Black renters have become some of the most vulnerable to changes in the market. As of 2024, the US Census estimates that Black residents make up roughly 20.5% of Boston's population (US Census Bureau). However, these residents make up a whopping majority in neighborhoods such as Roxbury, where they account for about 40.9% of residents, and Dorchester, where they make up 34.4%. (Point2Homes). 

Aside from their similar racial demographics, these neighborhoods share another commonality as they are among the most disadvantaged by rising housing costs and displacement across the city. This is not a mere coincidence, but partially a result of Boston's historical limitations on land use. The history behind these concentrated demographics stems back to exclusionary zoning and redlining practices dating as far back as the 1930’s, contrived from the racially discriminatory Federal Housing Act. Under this federal act, Boston notably targeted areas like Roxbury and Dorchester, confining the city's Black population to underserved environments, directly contributing to residents today being highly subject to rent fluctuation and less likely to become homeowners. Naturally, renter-heavy populations like these make housing security less stable for its residents. Inside this structural instability are also geographical barriers. Within some predominantly Black neighborhoods in Boston is a tainted public transportation system.  In most major US cities, public transit is a bare necessity of residents' mobility; in Boston, these communities lack a proportionate level of transit investment that predominantly white areas are afforded. When access is limited in this geographical fashion, Black residents have significantly less room for opportunity, which ultimately reinforces the pattern of economic and spatial inequality that has shaped Boston's housing landscape. 

Today, under Massachusetts zoning law 40A, municipalities have the authority to adopt bylaws that regulate land use over housing types and where they are located (Mass Law About Zoning). This law was passed with the objective of managing local population growth, but over time, it has prioritized single-family homes and restricted the establishment of smaller multi-family properties. This has contributed to the limited accessibility to affordable housing and rental shortages.  

So what does this mean for Boston's Black communities? Since these zoning ordinances have made it harder to construct affordable multi-family or apartment-style properties, the housing market supply is simply too insufficient to meet its increasing demand. The effect of this is a crippling burden on long-time Black residents who are more vulnerable to displacement as they make up the majority of renters; higher-income renters have the means to price them out and eventually replace them, a gentrification trend that Boston has been following. 

While universities are an essential part of Boston's identity, the massive student population adds another layer to the housing dilemma. On-campus housing is limited, class sizes are ever-growing, and as a result, many students face the harsh reality of being pushed into the off-campus renting pool. This ultimately forces students to face the issue that the rest of the city deals with, and sometimes moves them into the very neighborhoods that actively battle displacement. Unlike smaller families or new renters who seek out these apartments, students hold the advantage of being able to rent units in large groups, which contributes to the rise in prices. As one Boston local recounts, "A group of students who want to live together might be more able to pay higher rents than a family who lives nearby, and this can sometimes lead to displacement of long-time residents," (NBC Boston). It is important to note that students in need of housing are not to blame for this dynamic, as the responsibility lies with the housing system that fails to meet the increasing demands of its new and existing residents, and universities that cannot account for the capacity of students admitted relative to space. Students, like many renters in Boston, are forced to maneuver within this competitive and limited market. 

To address the housing demand and rising rents, Boston has revisited rent stabilization, a policy that aims to cap how much landlords can increase rents each year. This is meant to be a productive mechanism to stabilize housing costs for prospective renters, that is, if there weren’t so much pushback from the state. As in many other jurisdictions, this is a textbook example of the clash between city and state policy, but it has come at the cost of renters. 

 Massachusetts law prohibits traditional rent control, which in turn limits Boston's ability to implement it to help remedy some of the housing tension. A city council resolution in support of rent stabilization notes that, “ rapidly escalating cost of housing in Boston as a source of profound instability for renters,” (Council Resolution), with over half of renters being cost burdened and more than a quarter severely burdened. On the contrary, state representatives like Governor Maura Healey argue that rent stabilization would be a burden to development and only further amplify the tension between affordability and more housing. (CBS News). 

Given this background, it is important that as Boston moves forward, it takes with it lessons from the past while actively advocating for fairer housing policy in the present. This is essential to account for the Black and POC communities who have been historically disparaged by housing discrimination, and are being affected now by similar patterns of displacement. The city should seize this as an opportunity to account for these residents as opposed to continuing exclusive development at their expense. Without some intentional policy reform, Boston risks further neglecting these communities and renters altogether.

Works Cited

“Boston City, Massachusetts.” U.S. Census Bureau, 2024, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bostoncitymassachusetts/PST045224.

“Council Adopts Resolution Supporting 2026 Rent Stabilization Ballot Question.” City of Boston, https://www.boston.gov/news/council-adopts-resolution-supporting-2026-rent-stabilization-ballot-question.

“Massachusetts Law About Zoning.” Mass.gov, https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-zoning.

“Priced Out: How Boston’s College Housing Crunch Displaces Longtime Residents.” NBC Boston, https://www.nbcboston.com/investigations/priced-out-how-bostons-college-housing-crunch-displaces-longtime-residents/3702027/.

“Redlining and Present Day Opportunity in the Boston Area.” Diversity Data Kids, https://www.diversitydatakids.org/research-library/data-visualization/redlining-and-present-day-neighborhood-opportunity-boston-area.

“Rent Control Proposal Could Cost Massachusetts Billions in Lost Property Taxes, Study Finds.” CBS Boston, https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/rent-control-massachusetts-study/.

“Roxbury Demographics.” Point2Homes, https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/MA/Boston/Roxbury-Demographics.html.

“Dorchester Demographics.” Point2Homes, https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/MA/Boston/Dorchester-Demographics.html.