Boston Business Journal interviewed LISC Boston’s Executive Director Karen Kelleher alongside several other housing advocates on what Gov. Maura Healey's administration should prioritize. With so many possible initiatives, Kelleher recommends inviting diverse leaders to the table to develop an ambitious housing plan that centers racial equity.
The excerpt below was originally published:
How can Gov. Healey make Mass. less pricey? Housing advocates weigh in
By Grant Welker, Boston Business Journal
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Karen Kelleher, executive director, Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) Boston:
"It is well-documented that intentional, racist housing policies helped create segregation, disinvestment and racial wealth and ownership gaps. It will take intentional housing policy to reverse these discriminatory impacts. To that end, Gov. Healey should convene diverse leaders to develop an ambitious housing plan that centers racial equity.
While she challenges us to fundamentally redesign housing policies and programs in this way, some new strategies are already on the table, including right to counsel in eviction cases; a proposed law empowering municipalities to fund affordability via real estate transfer fees, and another allowing them to adopt the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. She can also support developers of color to build the new housing that MBTA communities will incentivize, putting both financial opportunity and decisions regarding who will purchase or rent those homes, in their hands."
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