As we process the 2024 election results, there have been many ongoing takes about what happened, and where we as a nation go from here. One take that seems absent from most circles is the housing shortage, and how many states have stalled in development.
Specifically, it’s concerning how states like Florida and Texas have been building housing and increasing population at a rapid pace, while states like Massachusetts and Vermont are building at significantly slower rates, with stagnant growth. This makes it difficult for those born and raised here to stay here should they want to, and has gradually handed more political power to states with regressive policies.
We are currently in a very serious and urgent fight for democracy and human rights in this country, given the presidential election outcomes. Although I often see lawn signs and bumper stickers expressing support for human rights in my hometown of Amherst and my current city of Somerville, they never acknowledge the need to build more housing. If only they would, as new housing is an effective means to support marginalized populations, and possibly help to fix inequality and mend democracy.
When you lose everything and have nothing left, including a home and safety, the most heartfelt thing one can do in this moment is to share the warmth of the fire, literal or figurative, with others.
When opponents of new housing try to block any proposal to housing in their town, they are depriving the warmth of the flame to people with the most need. We see this opposition in practice as the town of Milton continues to push back against the MBTA Communities Act, which mandates new housing, and in Needham, which is set to vote on whether they want new housing.
It is heartbreaking to see people say they support good public policies in theory, but do not want people who benefit from such policies in their communities. We have many wonderful towns across New England that, in theory, can be havens for people fleeing transphobia and abortion bans. That being said, a town is only as good as the people who live there, and their willingness to share with others.
Despite ongoing opposition, we are seeing progress in building housing in Massachusetts. Due to the MBTA Communities Act, Lexington is building roughly 1,000 new housing units. In Leverett, there is a push underway to convert the property of Yankee Candle founder Michael Kittredge into housing, with a significant portion to be made affordable.
New England states need to build much more dense housing to help drop rents, and enshrine the region as a place where people who are members of marginalized communities can afford to live, in practice, without fear of displacement to places with explicitly harmful policies that should not exist in the first place. Minneapolis, for example, provides a great example for steps to get out of the housing crisis; they abolished exclusive single-family zoning and built more high-rise residences and other diverse forms of housing across the city, which caused rents there to drop roughly 4% in a five-year period.
In order to combat inequality and foster community development, one thing we must do is adapt to the mindset of build, build, build. If we do not build more housing and public works projects such as libraries and schools, states seen as progressive will become smaller in population and surrender their power to hard-right policymakers and culture warriors, going down the road to a permanent tyranny of the minority.
We need to act now, elect pro-housing people into office, and build way, way more housing for people in order to reclaim power and influence going forward, to 2025 locally, 2028 nationally, and beyond.
If you support more housing, you should run for office yourself, or seek to get involved in town government boards. In this moment of rebuilding, we have to support each other locally, build housing, and share the collective warmth of the flame. Starting at the local level is how we can win again at the national level.
Eric Cochrane, formerly of Amherst, lives in Somerville.