Zoning & Land Use

The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program has published on its website a new series of resources titled “Implementing ARRA” which tracks the implementation work of metropolitan leaders, assessing their progress and struggles, and extracting from the innovators’ experiences ideas for short- and long-term federal policy reforms.

The Massachusetts State Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee recently concluded an investigation and published a report that calls for greater transparency and accountability under the state’s Chapter 40B affordable housing law, which allows developers to override local zoning laws limiting the number of units able to be built, so long as they agree to set aside a portion of affordable units, limit their profits, and return excess earnings to the municipality.