Boston Indicators

In our new brief, “Declining Opioid Overdose Deaths in Massachusetts,” buff.ly/V4uerPH we point to a welcome decline in the number of deaths—and the factors that threaten this progress.

One threatening factor is that the drug supply is getting harder to predict because new adulterants are often mixed with fentanyl. This means people might be unwittingly using a combination of different substances, leaving them vulnerable to overdosing.

In our new brief, “Declining Opioid Overdose Deaths in Massachusetts,” buff.ly/V4uerPH we point to the welcome decline in the number of deaths. This holds true across demographic groups, but some disparities remain.

American Indian/Alaska Native, Latino, and Black residents still have the highest rates of opioid overdose deaths. However, White residents, because they are the largest population group, account for the largest number of opioid overdose deaths in 2025, a total of 699 deaths.

Please join us for the release of the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2026 on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. buff.ly/BKDx1Q4

At the release event, we’ll hear from the report card’s researchers and from three area experts: Clara Fraden, CEO at Cambridge Housing Authority, Eric Shupin, CEO at Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), and Addie Grady, Senior Vice President and Partner at Leggat McCall Properties.

Please join us for the release of the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2026 on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. buff.ly/BKDx1Q4

The report card also features a Core Metrics section, produced by Boston Indicators, that looks at the impact of federal policy changes on the housing market.

Please join us for the release of the Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2026 on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. buff.ly/BKDx1Q4

One of the key findings in the report card is a concerning decline in population growth. Greater Boston’s population growth slowed dramatically in 2025 and is likely slowing further in 2026.

In our new brief, “Declining Opioid Overdose Deaths in Massachusetts: Drivers, Risks, and What Comes Next,” buff.ly/V4uerPH we point to the devastating human cost of opioid overdose deaths...

One threat is a federal policy change that will tie work requirements to Medicaid benefits on January 1, 2027. An estimated 33,647 adults who have opioid use disorder (OUD) could lose their MassHealth coverage.

In our new brief, “Declining Opioid Overdose Deaths in Massachusetts: Drivers, Risks, and What Comes Next,” buff.ly/V4uerPH we point to the devastating human cost of opioid overdose deaths...

In our new report, “Delayed by Design,” buff.ly/B4uKAuk we look at how long it can take to build housing because of local regulations like site plan reviews or because of neighbors who raise objections or file lawsuits.

In addition, local reviews of the project were focused and efficient. Arlington’s Redevelopment Board had “the authority to review the project against fixed design standards but not to reject it outright,” the report says.

In our new report, “Delayed by Design,” buff.ly/B4uKAuk we look at how long it can take to build housing because of local regulations like site plan reviews or because of neighbors who raise objections or file lawsuits.

The good news is that there are “low friction” Massachusetts cities and towns where housing projects have been built in a timely fashion.

At our “Conference on Housing Land Use and Building Reform,” buff.ly/0Rd539c Amy Dain explained how a long, local history of exclusionary policies has shaped today’s housing landscape.

Despite this long list of obstacles that vary by municipality, Dain pointed out that Massachusetts has made notable progress on housing construction by using tools like the MBTA Communities Law and statewide legalization of accessory dwelling units.

At our “Conference on Housing Land Use and Building Reform,” buff.ly/0Rd539c Amy Dain explained how a long, local history of exclusionary policies has shaped today’s housing landscape.

...expensive permitting processes that add to the cost of building that we heard about today; not enough deeply affordable housing, both market rate and income restricted; and rental deserts and concentrations of rental housing in certain communities.”

At our “Conference on Housing Land Use and Building Reform,” buff.ly/0Rd539c Amy Dain explained how a long, local history of exclusionary policies has shaped today’s housing landscape.

In our new report, “Delayed by Design: How Discretionary Permitting Stalls Housing in Massachusetts,” buff.ly/iy3Hs2c we look at how challenging it can be to secure a building permit.

And because these approvals are often interdependent, a change made late in the process can require a project to return to a board that has already reviewed it.”

In our new report, “Delayed by Design: How Discretionary Permitting Stalls Housing in Massachusetts,” buff.ly/iy3Hs2c we look at how challenging it can be to secure a building permit.

Highlights from our recent “Conference on Housing Land Use and Building Reform” buff.ly/0NfmErn include: • an overview of the zoning and regulatory barriers that are making it hard to build housing

As Berk said at the conference: “It's important to look at the fact that we are building housing, and we're building housing at a pace that we haven't seen in a while...

Highlights from our recent “Conference on Housing Land Use and Building Reform” buff.ly/0NfmErn include: • an overview of the zoning and regulatory barriers that are making it hard to build housing

How much does it cost when housing projects face delays? A three-month delay for a hypothetical 20-unit infill project can raise costs by $57,000, according to our new report, “Delayed by Design: How Discretionary Permitting Stalls Housing in Massachusetts.” buff.ly/2RQB4fc

The central lesson of our new report, “Delayed by Design: How Discretionary Permitting Stalls Housing in Massachusetts” buff.ly/2RQB4fc is that permissive zoning codes that look good on paper do not guarantee an actual right to build housing.

“A community may technically allow housing,” the report says, but the building process may be subjected to “discretionary review and procedural hurdles that make actual construction uncertain.

The central lesson of our new report, “Delayed by Design: How Discretionary Permitting Stalls Housing in Massachusetts” buff.ly/2RQB4fc is that permissive zoning codes that look good on paper do not guarantee an actual right to build housing.

"We heard today that barriers, from restrictive zoning to lengthy permitting processes, make it difficult to build the homes our communities need to help people establish roots, build wealth, and live prosperous lives.

—Courtney Brunson, The Boston Foundation, at our conference, "Housing, Land Use and Building Reform"

"We heard today that barriers, from restrictive zoning to lengthy permitting processes, make it difficult to build the homes our communities need to help people establish roots, build wealth, and live prosperous lives.

"And when you learn that homeowners hold a median net wealth of 790,000, while renters hold a median wealth of just $1,500, you must remember that the development of condos, duplexes, and multifamily homeownership units across the state means...

"We heard today that barriers, from restrictive zoning to lengthy permitting processes, make it difficult to build the homes our communities need to help people establish roots, build wealth, and live prosperous lives.

"When you think about who is on the other side of these barriers, it's not an abstraction; it's real people.