The Latest from CommunityScale
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Reflections on the State of the Nation’s Housing report
The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies released its annual State of the Nation’s Housing report, and CommunityScale dug into the most important changes. Single-family construction proved resilient at a 1.06 million annualized rate…
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Quarterly newsletter – Happy start of summer
CommunityScale’s summer 2024 quarterly newsletter rounds up a busy stretch of work spanning New England to Indiana and Virginia to Honolulu. It samples what the team has been thinking about, from how housing demand…
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Launching a Housing Needs Plan for Kennebunk
CommunityScale and Levine Planning Strategies announced a collaboration with the Town of Kennebunk, Maine to develop a Housing Needs Plan addressing housing production and cost burden over the coming five and ten years. The…
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Regional Housing Study for the Elkhart-South Bend region
The Elkhart-South Bend region encompasses a wide range of urban, suburban, and rural communities across Elkhart, Marshall, and St. Joseph Counties, each facing its own housing challenges. CommunityScale completed a Regional Housing Study for…
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Greenfield Housing Study public meeting video
Co-founding principal Jeff Sauser led a public discussion of housing needs in Greenfield, Massachusetts, presenting CommunityScale’s needs assessment, which weighs both local pent-up demand and regional market demand to set priorities and goals. The…
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City & County of Honolulu Housing Plan
Honolulu County hosts one of the country’s most cost-burdened housing markets, where widening affordability gaps threaten to drive out the local workforce. In 2024, CommunityScale developed a Housing Plan for the City and County…
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Launching a Housing Plan for Honolulu
CommunityScale partnered with the City and County of Honolulu to develop a comprehensive, forward-looking housing plan for one of the nation’s most cost-burdened markets. Led by Jeff Sauser with subconsultants Abt Associates and Affordable…
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Climate tech and zoning: you want to do what!? where!?
What happens when a fusion startup that begins with small explosions, a battery maker handling chemical storage, or a green-fuel company drawing heavy grid power tries to find a home in a conventional zoning…
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Launching the Melrose Rezoning Project
CommunityScale launched a rezoning project with the City of Melrose, Massachusetts, working closely with city staff on a comprehensive recodification of the Zoning Ordinance to modernize and streamline laws for the community’s current and…
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Launching a Housing Production Plan for the Town of Lancaster
CommunityScale launched a Housing Production Plan for the Town of Lancaster, Massachusetts with Levine Planning Strategies, aiming for an EOHLC-compliant plan that addresses the town’s housing needs. The methodology combines an in-depth housing needs…
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Income vs house price: How to calculate housing affordability
Determining how much a household can afford to pay for housing depends on far more than income and sale price. Mortgage rates, down payments, and property tax rates all shape the answer. This post…
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Fall River Davol Street Housing Market Analysis
CommunityScale completed the Housing Market Study for the Davol Street Corridor Master Plan in Fall River, Massachusetts, with the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, the City, and Stantec Urban Places. The analysis quantified market demand,…
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Growth is a choice: How housing demand and policy interact to shape the future
While long-term projections may suggest demand is strong and growth is inevitable, often the only way to realize this change is through municipal action with public support. As such, to be useful for practical…
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2024 is a busy year for the MBTA Communities Zoning Law in Massachusetts
Of the 177 Massachusetts communities required by the MBTA Communities law to adopt a by-right multifamily district, 130 faced a 2024 deadline, with twelve due in 2023 and the remaining 35 in 2025. CommunityScale…
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CommunityScale begins Housing Needs Assessment for the City of Alexandria, VA
CommunityScale has begun work on a Housing Needs Assessment for Alexandria, Virginia, a foundational step toward updating the City’s 2013 Housing Master Plan. A great deal has changed since that plan was written, but…
