A Better Cambridge seeks to inform and impact the public conversation on housing. We host educational events with leading experts in the field and social events that provide the opportunity to learn, engage, and meet people who are passionate about increasing opportunity and affordability in Cambridge. We advocate for immediate change with our Action Alerts - rallying supporters to come speak at municipal meetings on issues we care about.
What's Next?
Join us for the 2019 Cambridge City Council Candidate Forum
Our housing crisis is the most important issue facing Cambridge this election. City Council candidates differ on how to tackle the high cost of housing, displacement, and the challenges associated with development. Former five-term Cambridge city councilor David Sullivan will moderate a discussion about what candidates would do to tackle this crisis if elected.
What have we been up to in 2019?
Action Alerts on the 100% Affordable Housing Overlay
In 2019, we were a leader in supporting a proposal to change zoning to make it easier to construct or rehab buildings as 100% Affordable - meaning every home would be income restricted and affordable to families making at or below the area median income. Supporters showed up to nearly a dozen City Council and Planning Board meetings to tell our municipal leaders why this zoning change was critical to creating more affordable housing in our City.
Generation Priced Out Book Talk
We hosted a conversation between noted housing activist, Randy Shaw, and ABC founder Jesse Kanson-Benanav about how skyrocketing rents and home values are pricing the working and middle classes out of urban America.
Co-hosted with Somerville YIMBY, this social was an opportunity for pro-housing advocates across the Greater Boston area to make connections and socialize.
NIMBYs at the Hearing-The Demographics & Power of Public Comment
We hosted a presentation and conversation with Katherine Levine Einstein, Maxwell Palmer, and David Glick, authors of the study showing that the people who participate in public comment tend to be older, whiter, and wealthier than the community they live in - and are overwhelmingly more likely to be against new housing.
See more past events.