By Eugene T. Lowe
April 28, 2003

In a Chicago symposium on April 24, Conference President Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a major speech that a Harvard University report, "The Vitality of Working Communities" was important because "it disproves many of the negative stereotypes that surround the issues of housing — especially multifamily housing — in working communities." The report, commissioned by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation as part of the organization's national NeighborWorks Multifamily Housing Initiative, served as the centerpiece for the day-long event.

Data for the report came from the U.S. censuses of 1970, 1990 and 2000. An analysis by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies concluded that "multifamily housing not only provides shelter for nearly one out of every four Americans, its presence in lower- and moderate-income -working communities' poses no detriment to the value of other housing in the area."

Menino said in his address to the symposium, "I know from experience — as do many of you — that the key to a vibrant neighborhood is not whether it is made up of single or multifamily homes. The key is that the homes are planned right and built right. That there is good public transportation. That there are top-notch neighborhood schools. And that you invest in strong local businesses that provide jobs, goods and services."

Menino told the symposium attendees of his efforts to raise the visibility of housing as President of the Conference of Mayors. He described the organization's development of a comprehensive national housing strategy "that balances housing production and preservation." Central to the strategy he said was the creation of broad coalition which included the AARP, AMA and teachers' organizations; framing the housing issue as a national economic issue; and, including smart growth concepts in our conversations about housing.

In his speech, the mayor called for the establishment of a "strong housing production program, such as a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund—based on the 200 funds established in communities across the country, including Boston_to provide a steady revenue stream to assist low-income workers."

Other key findings of the Harvard study include:

• Working communities with high percentages of multifamily housing (more than 30 percent of housing units) have sustained a 30-year increase in home values in each of the largest 42 metropolitan areas.
• Working communities are especially populous in the Midwest and South, where they account for about 60 percent of the regions' total populations.
• Working communities with multifamily homes are stable places where poverty rates have barely changed in 30 years.
• In general, working communities are found in the suburbs as often as they are in metropolitan urban centers.
• Working communities are diverse, reflecting the nation's racial and ethnic demographics.
• Multifamily housing often provides a more affordable housing option for families in metropolitan areas with soaring real estate markets. The most dramatic increases in house values and rents over the past three decades are in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, New York and Boston. However, in these and other cities, rents climbed more slowly than house values.