#147 Fall 2006

NIMBYites Lose One

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in June that affordable housing development can’t be stopped on the grounds it might hurt neighbors’ property values. The case involved a suburb where […]

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in June that affordable housing development can’t be stopped on the grounds it might hurt neighbors’ property values. The case involved a suburb where a developer planned an apartment building. Because the town didn’t have enough low-income housing, the state “anti-snob” law allowed the developer to ignore the town’s zoning rules if he made a quarter of the units affordable. Then residents of a nearby single-family neighborhood argued their home values would be put at risk; the court said this argument would “frustrate” the intent of the law. (Boston Globe, 6/20)

OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

  • Season of Change

    September 23, 2006

    At the apex of the civil rights and social justice movements, a new type of organization, the community development corporation (CDC), was created. CDCs were charged with addressing the massive […]

  • Schools House Homeless Kids

    September 23, 2006

    A school district outside St. Louis is opening a home this fall for homeless students. The Maplewood-Richmond Heights district bought a house and had lined up a dozen teenagers to […]

  • Ohio Fights Predatory Lenders

    September 23, 2006

    Politicians from both parties teamed up in Ohio in May to enact a predatory lending law that is arguably tougher than North Carolina’s, which went into effect in 1999. The […]