Guarding the Town Walls:
Mechanisms and Motives for Restricting Multifamily Housing in Massachusetts

Local governments frequently restrict multifamily housing by limiting the districts where it is allowed, creating procedural barriers to development, and mandating large lot sizes or other dimensional standards. Such restrictions are thought to reduce the ability of low- and moderate-income households to afford housing in desirable locations. To test several hypotheses about why localities pursue such policies, Jenny Schuetz, a doctoral student in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government, coded and analyzed information in the Pioneer-Rappaport Housing Regulation Database, a comprehensive guide to land-use regulation in 186 Greater Boston communities.

On March 22, 2006 the Rappaport Institute invited Ms. Schuetz to discuss the conclusions that emerge from her analysis. Clark Ziegler, executive director of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, a statewide public non-profit affordable housing organization, commented on Schuetz's findings.