Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 3h

We don’t just need to build more, we need to embrace building small again.

Our zoning, building codes, permitting & financial systems wiped out the small-scale builders who once shaped great American neighborhoods.

It’s time to rethink how we make “small” possible again.

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 11h

This didn’t happen to us, it happened because of us.

Failed 70s & 80s policies restricted what we could build and where, choking our housing supply and leaving too few options for people at every stage of life.

We can fix this, if we’re willing to act with urgency today.

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 1d

Strong support for some pretty specific reforms in this poll. And this isn’t a statewide survey, it’s just Boston.

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 1d

“More than 80% of Boston residents believe the city needs to build thousands more homes to address the housing shortage…”

www.masslive.com/news/2025/10...

New poll reveals stunning support for more Boston housing — and some ways to make it happen

A new poll shows that the vast majority of Boston residents, both renters and homeowners, believe the city needs much more housing to address the high cost of renting and buying.

www.masslive.com

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 2d

"Officials in Salem deserve praise for a zoning change that could make it significantly easier to build housing in the city... Ending [minimum parking requirements] is a smart move, and more communities should follow suit."

- Salem News Editorial

📍Salem, MA

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 2d

A new poll of Boston residents on housing finds;

💰73% think cost of renting or buying is a 'MAJOR PROBLEM'
👎74% rate City's response as fair or poor
🏗️81% say City "needs to allow more homes"
🏡80% support a goal of 30,000 new homes
🚇71% support 12-story buildings near MBTA

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 2d

Full results from @abundanthousingma.org and @massincpolling.bsky.social here www.abundanthousingma.org/2025-city-of...

2025 City of Boston Poll Results

www.abundanthousingma.org

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 2d

A new poll of Boston residents on housing finds;

💰73% think cost of renting or buying is a 'MAJOR PROBLEM'
👎74% rate City's response as fair or poor
🏗️81% say City "needs to allow more homes"
🏡80% support a goal of 30,000 new homes
🚇71% support 12-story buildings near MBTA

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 2d

"Hasbro’s move to MA is good news, but it’s also a one-off victory — like landing on Free Parking. To put it in Monopoly terms: if the state really wants to reclaim our broader economic momentum, we just can’t expect people to keep paying Broadway costs."
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/06/o...

‘The bigger picture is grim’: Yes, Mass. snagged Hasbro, but can it compete with North Carolina? - The Boston Globe

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation’s latest competitiveness index report ranked the Commonwealth dead last in the nation for private employer job growth between 2023 and 2024.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 3d

Here's a new one...

A city council candidate claiming the laws of supply & demand don't exist... we don't need to build more housing... instead, eliminate the $25/month trash fee that the City charges landlords (in place for a decade) to drive rents lower...

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 3d

Rents in the City have doubled in the past decade. The $25 fee has been in place, and the same amount, for 20-years...

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 3d

Here's a new one...

A city council candidate claiming the laws of supply & demand don't exist... we don't need to build more housing... instead, eliminate the $25/month trash fee that the City charges landlords (in place for a decade) to drive rents lower...

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Dr. Katherine Haenschen @drkath.bsky.social · 3d

The #1 thing I have learned about housing policy is that housing is too expensive & supply is limited because *people make it that way.* Some of that is active NIMBY opposition; some is a simple failure to fix broken rules like the one below.

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 3d

“A lot of times, we’re reluctant to change on really dumb things.”

Many of the rules shaping what we can and can’t build today were written 50–60 years ago. If we want to meet Massachusetts’ modern housing needs, everything should be on the table for reform.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/05/o...

Why five feet of building space can doom construction - The Boston Globe

1973 law on high-rise threshold is out of sync with national recommendations.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 3d

“A lot of times, we’re reluctant to change on really dumb things.”

Many of the rules shaping what we can and can’t build today were written 50–60 years ago. If we want to meet Massachusetts’ modern housing needs, everything should be on the table for reform.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/05/o...

Why five feet of building space can doom construction - The Boston Globe

1973 law on high-rise threshold is out of sync with national recommendations.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 5d

Thanks Robin

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 7d

Salem City Council voted 10-1 to eliminate minimum parking requirements.

What does this mean and how did we get here?

📍Salem, MA

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 6d

www.newtonbeacon.org/planning-dep...

Planning Department calls for scrapping business district parking requirements - Newton Beacon

Do parking requirements hinder local businesses, and should they be thrown out? The City Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee members, joined by Peter Doeringer representing the Planning and Develo...

www.newtonbeacon.org

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 6d

Planning Department Calls For Scrapping Business District Parking Requirements

“Land within the city and within the region is limited, and if we can decouple parking from the businesses, or the spaces themselves, we can provide more space for businesses."

📍Newton, MA

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Alex Goyette @alexgoyette.bsky.social · 6d

Hey I wonder what other colonial era east coast settlement would really benefit from its city council legalizing parking flexibility 👀

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 7d

Salem City Council voted 10-1 to eliminate minimum parking requirements.

What does this mean and how did we get here?

📍Salem, MA

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 7d

Pew finds something that everybody in codes and standards knows but few will say out loud: we apply far stricter fire safety standards to apartments than to houses. www.pew.org/en/research-...

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Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 7d

Salem City Council voted 10-1 to eliminate minimum parking requirements.

What does this mean and how did we get here?

📍Salem, MA

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Barbara Parmenter @geoparmenter.bsky.social · 8d

Let's do this as well, Boston!

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 9d

“Eliminating minimum parking requirements is a historic-preservation strategy, a climate action, a mobility win & housing-affordability policy in one. It helps make housing more affordable, neighborhoods more walkable, & city more livable.”

- Salem Planning Board
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/29/b...

Salem eliminates parking minimums for new development, in bid to make housing cheaper - The Boston Globe

Salem is the latest Greater Boston municipality to make such a move.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 9d

🚨 BREAKING: Salem, Massachusetts, my City, has eliminated multi-family parking requirements citywide after a 10-1 vote at City Council and unanimous support of Planning Board.
www.remainplaces.com/post/my-city...

Salem Eliminates Minimum Parking Requirements For New Multi-Family Housing

SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS- On Thursday, the Salem City Council voted 10-1 to eliminate onerous minimum parking requirements for new multi-family housing, with Ward 1 Councilor Cynthia Jerzylo casting the s...

www.remainplaces.com

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 9d

“Eliminating minimum parking requirements is a historic-preservation strategy, a climate action, a mobility win & housing-affordability policy in one. It helps make housing more affordable, neighborhoods more walkable, & city more livable.”

- Salem Planning Board
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/29/b...

Salem eliminates parking minimums for new development, in bid to make housing cheaper - The Boston Globe

Salem is the latest Greater Boston municipality to make such a move.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Reposted by Jonathan Berk 🏠

Ryan Casey @ryancasey.dev · 8d

Great news out of Salem, let's make it happen state-wide!

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · 9d

🚨 BREAKING: Salem, Massachusetts, my City, has eliminated multi-family parking requirements citywide after a 10-1 vote at City Council and unanimous support of Planning Board.
www.remainplaces.com/post/my-city...

Salem Eliminates Minimum Parking Requirements For New Multi-Family Housing

SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS- On Thursday, the Salem City Council voted 10-1 to eliminate onerous minimum parking requirements for new multi-family housing, with Ward 1 Councilor Cynthia Jerzylo casting the s...

www.remainplaces.com

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