B
oston Mayor Michelle Wu unveiled the city's first-ever Anti-Displacement Action Plan, A Place to Thrive, during her State of the City address. This comprehensive two-year plan aims to stabilize residents, small businesses, and cultural organizations facing displacement due to economic or direct pressures.
"We must keep our neighborhoods vibrant by supporting those who call Boston home," Mayor Wu emphasized. "Our growth should strengthen community roots, not displace them." The plan's development was informed by resident feedback, which highlighted concerns about housing shortages and rising costs of living exacerbating displacement fears.
The City has been working on anti-displacement efforts for years, but this plan marks a significant shift towards coordination and comprehensive action. Building on two foundational reports released in December, A Place to Thrive outlines new initiatives to strengthen existing tools and address community priorities.
Key components include:
* The Co-Purchasing Homebuyer Program: assisting low- and moderate-income households in purchasing homes through shared resources.
* Expanded Condominium Conversion Ordinance: providing reasonable notice, relocation assistance, and the opportunity to purchase for tenants facing displacement due to conversions.
* Office to Residential Conversion program expansion: including student and employer-sponsored workforce housing.
* Direct Displacement Disclosure: requiring developers to disclose potential direct displacement of commercial, cultural, or residential tenants and work with them on a relocation plan if necessary.
* New site finding assistance: matching businesses with vacant storefronts throughout the city.
* Commercial Acquisition Assistance Program: stabilizing neighborhood commercial districts through financial tools for small business owners.
The City's anti-displacement efforts are organized around four main tenets: Protect, Preserve, Produce, and Prosper. The plan focuses on protecting renters and lower-income homeowners from displacement, preserving affordable housing and community spaces, producing more housing and commercial/cultural space, and creating an environment for Bostonians to build wealth and prosper.
To inform planning, policy, and outreach, the City has released its first-ever interactive Residential Displacement Risk Map. This data-driven tool measures current residential displacement pressures and community-level displacement risk across Boston.
Community leaders and organizations have praised the plan's comprehensive approach and innovative tools. They look forward to working with the City to implement these strategies and ensure that everyone in Boston can benefit from development without displacement.
