Today the Center for Policy – in partnership with the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing and the Center for Neighborhood Technology – released Boston Regional Challenge, a new report on the combined housing and transportation costs faced by those in the Boston region. According to the report’s findings, the average working household in this region spends more than $34,000 a year – or 54 percent of their income – on the combined costs of housing and transportation.
Covering most of eastern Massachusetts, all of Rhode Island, and parts of southern New Hampshire, the report analyzes housing and transportation cost data for 18 regions throughout the study area and explains how these costs relate to affordability for area residents. The report also analyzes neighborhoods, cities, and towns throughout the region where housing and transportation costs represent an extreme cost burden – consuming 58 percent or more of household income. Boston Regional Challenge finds that one in four households in the study area are located in neighborhoods in which there are extreme housing and transportation cost burdens.
“This report underscores the importance of broadening the understanding surrounding some of the challenges associated with housing affordability to also include transportation costs, travel time and the negative environmental impacts of commuting,” said J. Ronald Terwilliger, chairman of the ULI Terwilliger Center. “We hope local, state and federal leaders will use this report to help guide future development, zoning and transportation decisions for this vital region.”
The study’s accompanying Web site, www.BostonRegionalChallenge.org, includes a Cost Calculator, which helps users determine their combined housing and transportation costs based on where they live, where they work and how they commute. A copy of the report can also be downloaded from the Web site.