Last fall, SGA concluded a technical assistance partnership with two Massachusetts community organizations, CultureHouse in Somerville and Westside Legends in Pittsfield. The Massachusetts Technical Assistance programming included three distinct phases of support for the two community organizations in their efforts to advance affordable housing production and economic development opportunities in their respective communities.
CultureHouse: Encouraging smarter growth in the greater Boston area
The recent passing of the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Area Transit Authority) Communities Law requires the 177 communities in the region with MBTA rail stations to upzone neighborhoods within a half-mile of the station to allow for by-right development of multi-family housing. Passed as one of several statewide zoning reforms aiming to address the Commonwealth’s housing crisis, the MBTA Communities Law brings additional focus on the need for more affordable housing in one of the most expensive housing markets in the United States.
Cultu
reHouse, a nonprofit organization in Somerville, Massachusetts (an MBTA community), was poised to leverage the new law to benefit their community. Through their participation in SGA’s Massachusetts Technical Assistance program, we worked with CultureHouse to create a framework that embeds smart growth principles into the organization’s internal processes and community engagement strategies. The program included a Virtual Training program for CultureHouse team members and the creation of several informational and educational materials on complex housing-related topics such as zoning reform, the technicalities of public-private space differences, and more. Our efforts focused on the organization’s five-step engagement processes, using new methods to incorporate boots-on-the-ground community feedback received during CultureHouse’s engagement events into smart growth-oriented actionable action plans.
As the regions in the greater Boston area continue to place an added focus on collectively exploring opportunities to create more affordable housing opportunities, SGA is thrilled to have had the opportunity to support CultureHouse in their efforts to revitalize and beautify underutilized and vacant public spaces across Somerville.
Westside Legends: Bringing much-needed affordable housing development to Westside Pittsfield to lessen the impacts of Urban Renewal and Redlining and prevent further displacement
Through the technical assistance program, SGA supported Westside Legends to grow the reach and scale of its affordable housing rehabilitation program. Our partnership included funding support, land use strategy development, and mentorship on housing development best practices. The concluding series of recommendations for Westside Legends included strategies for fundraising, hiring, and collaborating with local municipal permitting departments during housing development project processes. The SGA team also provided a desktop policy scan of approximately $1 million in operational funding opportunities that would support its mission and programming. As a result, Westside Legends accessed ARPA funds provided by the City of Pittsfield to continue to support its affordable housing projects. They also connected with a grants manager to pursue additional funding. Finally, we connected Westside Legends with national experts who shared additional best practices to support their work.
SGA is thrilled to continue supporting small, local organizations across the country, such as Westside Legends, which have taken it upon themselves to fill the gaps in equitable affordable housing and economic development at the most localized neighborhood level.
The Westside Working Group
For the final phase of the technical assistance program, SGA convened a working group in Pittsfield of local community leaders to develop a comprehensive suite of recommendations and next steps to advance affordable housing and economic development in the Westside neighborhood. The Westside Working Group included neighborhood leaders, planning practitioners, business leaders, and other local community stakeholders who shared various work expertise and lived experiences in Pittsfield. Discussions, in particular, were focused on community concerns over the inconsistent communication that Westside community leaders have historically experienced when working with the city to address neighborhood concerns over past disinvestment.
Leaning heavily on the lived final report included the following six recommendations and action items that Westside Legends will present to the City of Pittsfield leadership to bring actionable investment and improvements to the Westside:
- Recommendation 1: Support grassroots advocacy, bolster community voices in housing and community development decisions, and expand upon existing community engagement efforts
- Recommendation 2: Create an Equitable Development Roundtable to facilitate collaborative and cross-sectional discussions and relationships
- Recommendation 3: Create and implement a vacant lot remediation strategy focused on the Westside
- Recommendation 4: Develop City-supported educational programming to encourage and support BIPOC wealth generation
- Recommendation 5: Update zoning to allow for mixed-use development and infill on the Westside
- Recommendation 6: Update the 2009 Master Plan
Read the recommendations report here
The final recommendations report will serve as a strategy guide that Westside Legends can use as they work with the City of Pittsfield to mitigate the longstanding effects of exclusionary zoning and create more affordable housing opportunities in the Westside neighborhood.
Conclusion
The Massachusetts Technical Assistance program concluded with an Equitable Development Convening in Pittsfield. The convening brought together CultureHouse, Westside Legends, and a selection of Statewide and National leaders on equitable development to share findings from the technical assistance programming, discuss and finalize the Westside Working Group recommendations, and brainstorm actionable next steps toward advancing equitable development across the Massachusetts Commonwealth. Community organizations and local governments across the country will have the opportunity to work together to address historic