ZONING & NEWTON HISTORY

learn ABOut ZONINg

& Newton history

[Rev. 10/24/20]

Newton Materials

Newton and Fair Housing: Some Things We Need to Know and Remember (significant moments in Newton housing history, compiled by Kathleen Hobson)

Debating Single-Family Zoning in Newton, 1922-1953 (Alice Ingerson)

Newton Zoning Timeline, 1921–53 (Alice Ingerson)

Newton Zoning Maps, 1921–2018

Side-by-Side Comparison: 1938 Redlining Map & 2018 Draft Zoning Maps

Boston Area Race & Income Dot Maps (showing Newton)

Commentary: Newton's tarnished image (Bob Engler, Newton TAB, 7/12/15—re City's claim to have reached 1.5%-land-area Chapter 40B minimum)

HUD Complaint by Engine 6 Against the City of Newton (2013) and Conciliation Agreement (2015)

The character of the neighborhood in Newtonville (Rev. Howard Haywood, Newton TAB, 1/21/15)—re Austin Street debates

Myrtle Baptist Church: Pillar of the Community (2011 documentary)

Newton Talks: Katy and Howard Haywood (4/12/18 interview—video + link to transcript)

Newton Talks: Kathy and Hubie Jones (4/4/19 interview—video + link to transcript)

Celebration of the Life and Mission of Rev. Howard Haywood (2018 event, including presentations by Nadine Cohen, David Harris, Hubie Jones, and Rev. Haywood, on fair and affordable housing)

African-American community of Newton has long legacy (Newton TAB, 2/28/17)

The Civil Rights Movement in Newton, 1950-1970 (pamphlet by Katherine Jones, Lillie Jefferson, Nina King, 2002)

Low–Moderate Income Housing Study (Newton Planning Dept., 1968). See especially, pp. 10–14, “Community Attitudes on Housing: The Dichotomy.”

Story of the Newton Community Development Foundation (NCDF Community News, 50th anniversary edition, Early Fall 2018)

Liberalism in the Suburbs (Newsweek, 7/6/70)

Rte 128: Boston’s Road to Segregation (Joint report by MA State Advisory Committee to US Commission on Civil Rights & MA State Commission Against Discrimination, 1975)

City of Newton Plans, Policies, and Strategies

Mayor Fuller's Update on Zoning Redesign (9/25/20)

webinars

Zoned Out: Why Massachusetts Needs to Legalize Apartments Near Transit (The Boston Foundation, 10/21/20)

Presentation to Newton-Needham Chamber (12/7/20; slides here)

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

11/17/20 talk by Richard Rothstein about his 2017 book, followed by Q&A, then talk with Richard Evans, Newton native and former resident of "The Village," the historic Black Newton neighborhood destroyed by Mass Pike construction in the 1960s; then overview of Zoning Redesign by Councilor Deb Crossley, Chair of ZAP (Zoning & Planning Committee). The event was sponsored by the Newton Free Library, FORJ, and the LWVN (League of Women Voters of Newton), and was part of the forum series "Overdue: Confronting Race and Racism in Newton."

Learning from Successful Strategies (Building a Better Brookline forum, 7/26/20)—How Somerville, MA, and Minneapolis, MN, pursued zoning reform and increasing the affordable housing supply, from perspectives of both planning and advocacy.

Can 40R help address our housing shortage? (4/9/20 Newton-Needham Chamber panel with Bill Reyelt, Principal Planner, Smart Growth Programs, MA Dept. of Housing & Community Development; Julie Mercier, Community Devel. Director, Reading; David Gillespie, VP–Development, AvalonBay.

Websites, Studies, Reports

CHAPA (Citizens Housing & Planning Association)

Black Lives Matter. (6/3/20 Statement by CEO Rachel Heller)

The State of Zoning for Multi-Family Housing in Greater Boston (Amy Dain, June 2019)

MAPC (Metropolitan Area Planning Association)

Metro Mayors Coalition Housing Compact. "After factoring in the housing demand created by... new workers, the increasing number of senior households, and the changing needs of existing residents, we estimate that the [15 municipalities of the] Metro Mayors Coalition will need to add 185,000 housing units from 2015–2030 in order to meet demand and reduce—or at least stabilize—housing costs." [Newton is one of the 15.]

The Waning Influence of Housing Production on Public School Enrollment (Oct. 2017 research brief)

MHP (Massachusetts Housing Partnership)

Center for Housing Data

TODEX (Transit-Oriented Development Explorer)

Housing Toolbox

2019 Greater Boston Housing Report Card: Supply, Demand and the Challenge of Local Control (The Boston Foundation)

2020 Greater Boston Housing Report Card: A series exploring the impact of COVID-19 and inequity on housing in Greater Boston (The Boston Foundation)

Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies

Eliminating Exclusionary Land Use Regulations Should Be the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time (JCHS, 2019)

Overcoming Opposition to Multifamily Rental Housing (JCHS, 2007)

Lincoln Institute of Land

Housing Matters (Urban Institute resource)

City Observatory

Sightline Institute

Missing Middle Housing (Congress for the New Urbanism resource)

Local Housing Solutions (NYU Furman Center resource)

Supply Skepticism (NYU Furman Center, 2018)—report responding in depth to key arguments of those who doubt increasing supply of market-rate housing will result in housing that is more affordable.

Housing & Zoning Videos