Roxbury residents have spent decades working with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston to ensure that publicly owned land in our neighborhood is developed through community-led planning. In 2018 Reclaim Roxbury won clear standards that turn public land into a vehicle for neighborhood wealth and housing stability.
We recognize that a higher volume of housing production is essential for affordability across the entire City. To meet this moment, we must treat our Community Standards not as a barrier to development, but as our highest asset. These standards provide the blueprint for developers to build with certainty and for the neighborhood to grow without displacement.
As the City and State make critical decisions about our future, we call on leadership of the City of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts to:
Prioritize Volume and Affordability: Accelerate the building of new units on public land, recognizing that increasing housing supply, when built to our community’s standards, is a vital tool for citywide affordability. Explore unique opportunities to fund this development.
Respect Community Vision: Resist the de-designation of projects that have met diverse community needs. We must protect projects that balance deeply affordable housing, M/WBE participation, and local economic mobility, rather than allowing them to be stalled by a single-issue focus.
Expand Opportunity for Developers: Actively open public land to development teams, especially local businesses and M/WBEs, who are ready to work within our community standards without compromise.
Invest in Local Economy: Ensure every project on public land prioritizes local businesses and creates tangible pathways to economic opportunity for Roxbury residents.
Uphold Community Leadership: Reaffirm the City’s commitment to community-led decision-making by engaging residents and the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan Oversight Committee before any major public land decisions are finalized.
Roxbury’s future should be shaped with the community, by scaling the solutions we have already proven to work. By honoring these partnerships, the City can move from planning to production, building a more equitable and vibrant Roxbury for all.
