Description

Due to this weekend’s heavy snowfall and continued impacts on travel, this event will take place virtually and will no longer be held in person.


When the MBTA Communities Act became law in 2021, it marked the most significant zoning reform in Massachusetts in decades — opening the door to new housing production across eastern Massachusetts. But no one believed it would solve the housing crisis on its own.

Four years later, the pressure hasn’t eased. Housing costs remain stubbornly high, communities are grappling with implementation, and the question facing policymakers, advocates, and the real estate community is not whether more action is needed, but what comes next?

Join the Charles River Chamber for a candid assessment of what MBTA-C has accomplished, where it has fallen short and what new tools, policies and political strategies should be on the table in 2026 and beyond to meaningfully increase housing supply and affordability.

We’ll be joined by three of the state’s leading housing advocacy experts for a look at ideas that could – or should – be considered by state and local officials. 

Presenter:

• Katherine Levine Einstein,  Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies at BU

Our housing ideas panel includes:

• State Sen. William N. Brownsberger
• Rachel Heller, CEO, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA)
• Jesse Kanson-Benanav, Executive Director, Abundant Housing Massachusetts
• Andrew Mikula, Senior Housing Fellow, Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research