Young Americans in Massachusetts struggling to find affordable housing are joining pro-development groups and infiltrating public meetings to vote for new skyscrapers.
Franklin Councilwoman Cobi Frongillo regularly witnesses community resistance to proposed housing developments due to building size and concerns about parking spaces.
But the 25-year-old can only afford to live in the city by renting the cabin in his parents’ backyard and insists that few people his age have been able to stay in the area where they grew up.
He joined a group of other residents and formed an unusual pro-housing group called Building Equitable Neighborhoods and has about 35 members.
“I can’t afford to buy out the community that I love and fundamentally that’s a big problem for the future of this city,” Frongillo told the Boston Globe.
Young Americans in Massachusetts, including 25-year-old Cobi Frongillo, are joining pro-development groups and infiltrating public meetings to vote for new skyscrapers.
Frongillo and the advocacy group attend public meetings where they vote in favor of new housing developments.
“Young people can’t live here anymore because we simply don’t have housing,” he said.
There are now dozens of new local pro-housing groups across eastern Massachusetts, making their presence felt in communities like Norwood and Rockport.
It has been sparked by the MBTA Communities Act, which requires cities and towns served by public transportation to facilitate the construction of family housing.
Pro-housing groups are calling on local officials to be bolder with the new zoning rules and will advocate for other policies when they are approved.
The groups typically form after younger residents are shocked by the rejection of new housing at community meetings by older, wealthier homeowners.
Boston University researcher Katherine Einstein said advocacy organizations can end up having a lot of influence.
Frongillo, who is a councilman in Franklin, regularly witnesses community resistance to proposed housing developments due to building size and parking concerns.
She said: ‘This is the most organized pro-housing movement that has ever been in Massachusetts. “They are making great strides locally.”
The movement has spread across the United States, leading to zoning changes in states like Montana and Oregon.
Frongillo said the group’s membership is open to all demographics, although it is led by younger residents.
They want affordable housing built in the community, as production has stalled and new development plans are regularly criticized.
The median price of a single-family home in Franklin is $660,000 and the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is close to $2,100.
A similar group was launched in Cambridge in 2012, when a group of locals in their 20s formed A Better Cambridge.
They first met in bars and apartments to work on their plan and successfully fought a proposed downzoning.
But the 25-year-old can only afford to live in the city by renting the cabin in his parents’ backyard and insists that few people his age have been able to stay in the area where they grew up.
Jesse Kanson-Benanav, the group’s first executive director, left to form the statewide housing advocacy group Abundant Housing Massachusetts.
“State policy reform is crucial, but it’s really important that we do things in the context of Massachusetts,” he said.
“We’ve been building homes locally here for a long time, and as long as that’s the case, we have to adapt to the system.”
Waltham Inclusive Neighborhoods was created after area residents became frustrated with the lack of speed with MBTA Communities’ housing plan.
The city has welcomed 10,000 new jobs in the last decade, but built only 1,600 housing units.
“That’s the driver of the real estate crisis,” said one of the group’s leaders, Tom Benavides, 25.
“The fact that we are willing to build a commercial development for workers and we are not willing to house them is that we are blinding ourselves.”
Frongillo and advocacy group attend public meetings where they vote in favor of new housing developments
Waltham Inclusive Neighborhoods is seeking local officials to propose zoning changes that work with MBTA communities and create space for nearly 4,000 homes.
While in Norwood, the pro-housing group Norwood for All ran an educational campaign to combat misinformation ahead of a spring town meeting.
He approved the city’s plan to rezone the land to make room for 2,000 units.
