Unpacking Mixed-Income Social Housing
From my first day in office, I’ve been driven by a single, urgent mission: to tackle our city's housing crisis so that every Bostonian can afford to call this city home. Whether it be by expanding access to ADUs or triple-deckers, I’ve taken decisive action in the fight for housing justice.
The stakes could not be higher. In Boston, the disparities are stark: your zip code can determine your life span. A resident of Back Bay has an average life expectancy of 92 years, while just two miles away in Roxbury—a community shaped by the historic injustice of redlining—it's only 69.
This is the tangible harm of socioeconomic segregation.
To heal this divide, we need solutions as bold as the problem is severe. While tackling this crisis requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, today I want to focus on one solution with transformative potential: mixed-income social housing.
It was a cornerstone of my inaugural speech and the driving force behind my first legislative actions, and today, I want to share how it can build a more equitable future for all of us.
What is Mixed-Income Social Housing?
Put simply, a mixed-income housing development is an apartment complex or community where people with different incomes live together. It's an intentional effort to create economically diverse neighborhoods.
The "Mixed-Income" Model
A mixed-income development is designed to serve a wide range of residents by blending two types of units:
Market-Rate Units: These are rented at the going rate, typically for middle- and higher-income households.
Subsidized/Affordable Units: These are reserved for low- and moderate-income households, with rent capped at a percentage of the area's median income (AMI).
The revenue from the market-rate units helps cross-subsidize the affordable ones. This creates a financially stable and self-sustaining model that requires less public subsidy over time and ensures the building remains well-maintained for everyone.
The "Social" Advantage
The "social" part of the name refers to its purpose: this housing is developed for the public good, not private profit.
Mixed-Income Social Housing developments are often owned or managed by non-profits or community land trusts. Instead of rent payments being funneled to corporate developers, any surplus revenue is reinvested back into the community—funding maintenance, resident services, or even future affordable housing projects.
We’ve seen the harms of single-use developments, which divide our communities into buildings and neighborhoods dictated by their income. While our low-income and historically-segregated neighborhoods suffer, high housing costs in high-income neighborhoods too-often funnel money into the pockets of private developers instead of back into our communities.
Building Stronger Communities
My experience growing up in public housing is a direct reminder of the critical importance of a stable home. It's the foundation upon which education, health, and economic mobility are built. That foundation is crumbling for thousands of our neighbors, but mixed-income social housing helps us rebuild it.
Mixed-income social housing offers a set of powerful benefits that address our city's biggest challenges:
Deconcentrating Poverty: By moving away from housing that concentrates poverty, we create opportunities for low-income families to live in amenity-rich areas with better access to jobs, transit, and high-performing schools.
Financial Stability: The market-rate units help cross-subsidize the affordable units. The blend of incomes ensures the building can support itself, maintaining high-quality living conditions for all residents without relying solely on fluctuating government funding.
Economic Diversity and Social Capital: This model helps prevent the displacement of long-time residents in gentrifying areas and creates integrated communities. This mixing of incomes helps build stronger social networks, which can lead to better job opportunities and community support for all residents.
Improved Living Conditions: Mixed-income developments are often new builds or complete remodels, providing residents with modern, safe, and environmentally healthier homes.
Why This Work Can't Wait
Currently, the wait time for Boston Housing Authority (BHA) housing can exceed ten years, with some community waitlists swelling to over 13,000 applicants.
When I see these heartbreaking numbers, I don't just see a statistic. I see thousands of families waiting for the same stability that allowed my own to thrive after we arrived here. I know that a waiting list isn't just a line; it's a collection of dreams deferred.
Mixed-income social housing is the cornerstone of a strategy to build a Boston where everyone has a place to call home—not just for a few years, but for generations to come.
Why This Work Can't Wait
Talk is important, but action is what creates change. From my first days in office, I was determined to turn the ideal of mixed-income housing into a concrete reality for Boston. This commitment has been the driving force behind a continuous story of action throughout my first term.
The journey began with my very first legislative filing: a hearing order to formally explore how we could bring the mixed-income social housing model to Boston.
That conversation expanded in March, when we convened a public hearing with the Committee of Housing and Community Development, bringing experts, advocates, and residents to the table.
We listened and learned from cities that have successfully used this model, gathering the data and best practices needed to build a blueprint for Boston. With that foundation, my colleagues and I rolled up our sleeves for a working session in October. This was where we dug into the details—tackling the complex financial structures and policy specifics required to turn a bold vision into a workable plan.
This continuous work—from an initial idea to a detailed strategy—paved the way for a landmark achievement. Last year, our office worked alongside Mayor Wu and dedicated community advocates to secure a $110 million Housing Accelerator Fund for the creation of mixed-income social housing.
Together, we are disrupting the old cycle of wealth extraction from our communities and creating a new, self-sustaining one where our city funds permanently affordable homes and reinvests the surplus into future projects.
We know that building affordable housing isn't just a checklist —it’s the process of creating systems that bring about lasting affordable housing for generations to come.
This work is more than just policy to me — the foundation of a stable home gave me the opportunity to be here today, serving you on the City Council.
My goal is to ensure that every child, every family, and every senior in Boston has that same foundation to build their dreams upon.
The progress we've made is just the beginning. Building a Boston where everyone belongs requires the partnership and passion of our entire community.
I want to hear from you—your ideas, your challenges, and your hopes for our city's future. Please don't hesitate to reach out to my office with your housing story or to learn more about how you can get involved.