Somerville YIMBY

If We Don’t Build Here, Then Where?

When someone takes a new job in the Boston area, they face a housing choice. If they can afford Somerville, they compete with current residents, driving up prices and causing displacement. If they can't, they’re likely to commute from further out, possibly displacing someone from that town, pushing them to an even longer commute. Either way, someone ends up living farther from where they work.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/05/20/if-we-dont-build-here-then-where/

Let’s try this again! Check out “The Basic Economics of Home Building”, our latest post, this time without some HTML gobbledegook 😆

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/04/30/the-basic-economics-of-home-building/

The Future of NOAH

What makes a home affordable? The government definition is that it costs less than 30% of your income to live there. If you pay more, as about a third of households in Somerville do, you’re considered “cost burdened.” There are two ways to reach affordability: subsidies, and finding a bargain on the open market. When we talk about Affordable housing with a capital A, we’re talking about subsidies.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/04/20/the-future-of-noah/

A Minute for Action (for Voting and Speaking at Land Use)

Elections for the Davis Square Neighborhood Council board will take place April 13 through April 27, 2026. If you live, work, or receive services in or near Davis Square, you may be eligible to vote, and your vote will have a critical impact on the future of the neighborhood. In particular, we’d like to request your support for Somerville YIMBY members: …

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/04/13/a-minute-for-action-for-voting-and-speaking-at-land-use/

Who Actually Builds Our Affordable Housing

Let’s start with a question: Which of these do you think built more new Affordable Housing in Somerville in the last 10 years? All our non-profits combined US2, the for-profit developers of Union Square Before we answer, let’s take a look at how much we Affordable Housing we have and how we actually get it built. There two main ways to make housing into capital-letters Affordable Housing in Somerville: subsidized homes and…

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/04/08/who-actually-builds-our-affordable-housing/

What the heck is going on with Backyard Cottages

Have you ever wanted to add a home or workspace to your back yard? Well a Backyard Cottage might be for you! It is intended as a way to gently add a little more density to our city in a way that is not visible to most people. However, Backyard Cottages (with capital letters because they have a specific definition in the zoning code) have been a surprisingly contentious issue since they were originally allowed in 2019.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/03/18/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-backyard-cottages/

Help Plan Affordable Housing in Gilman Square

On March 12, Just-A-Start and the Somerville Community Land Trust will host a meeting for neighbors to discuss their plans to build a fully affordable building at 297 Medford Street in Gilman Square. They’ll go over the design and project timeline and answer questions from neighbors. If you live nearby, join them at 6:00 pm, in person in the cafeteria at Somerville High School.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/03/10/help-plan-affordable-housing-in-gilman-square/

No Vacancy

Have you had a landlord ask you to do something they’re supposed to handle, like shoveling snow or dealing with a rat infestation? Have they ever dragged their feet on important repairs or charged illegal fees? Have you ever shaken your fist and then given up because, although you’re in the right, you don’t have any leverage? In Somerville, both you and your landlord know two things: it would be hard for you to find a new apartment, and it would be easy for…

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/03/05/no-vacancy/

Affordable Housing Makes Progress

We have two pieces of very promising news about affordable housing for you. First, Just-A-Start has secured financing and begun construction work on their 24 Webster Avenue project, which will create 43 deeply affordable rental homes in a 6-story building. That’s a real victory, but it’s taken a long time to get here, and the price is astronomical: about $837,000 per home.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/03/03/affordable-housing-makes-progress/

They Build Homes Too Big! They Build Homes Too Small!

If you listen to folks talk about construction in Somerville, you’ll probably hear someone complain about the size of new homes. Sometimes the complaint is that new buildings only have tiny studios for single people. Sometimes you hear that new homes are too large and too expensive for current residents. Both complaints stem from the same root: builders maximizing profit under different sets of zoning rules.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/06/01/they-build-homes-too-big-they-build-homes-too-small/

Studios are fine, actually. Plus Lobby Day.

Policy newsletter Pencilling Out recently tackled a question that comes up constantly in Somerville: does building more studios and one-bedrooms actually help families find larger apartments, even if families aren't moving into those new units? Readers won’t be surprised to hear that the answer is yes: people who live in those studios would otherwise split larger apartments, so new studios free up larger units in other…

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/05/29/studios-are-fine-actually-plus-lobby-day/

Are We Trying to Do Nothing?

Marblehead has been in the news recently for passing a much-delayed and toothless plan to comply with the MBTA Communities Act. As a reminder, the MBTA Communities Act, also known as Section 3A, is a state law that requires communities served by the T to legalize at least some multifamily housing. Marblehead, having missed several deadlines, finally complied this month by changing the zoning of a tony golf course to allow multifamily…

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/05/12/are-we-trying-to-do-nothing/

A letter to Somerville City Council & Redevelopment Authority re: 90 Washington St redevelopment, urging them to choose more homes, less cars, & more green space!

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/05/09/90-washington-st-choose-north-river-leelink/

Factors of Upzoning

Everyone knows that the single biggest factor in the price of a home is its location. A home in Somerville costs more than a similar one in Lowell, for example, and a home near Davis Square is more valuable than a similar one right next to I-93. The price for a location reflects its desirability. If we want to build homes where people want to live, we need to understand what kind of upzoning will help us reach that goal.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/05/08/factors-of-upzoning/

The Basic Economics of Home Building

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https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/04/30/the-basic-economics-of-home-building/

Action Alert: Public Comment on Dormers

Write In to Support Dormer Reform We presented our dormer amendment to a joint hearing of the Land Use Committee and the Planning Board on the 16th, and public comment is open until noon on May 1. If you were haven’t already, please write to publiccomments@somervillema.gov in support of file item 26-0287, the pro-dormer amendment. It doesn’t have to be long!

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/04/25/action-alert-public-comment-on-dormers/

Fair Housing Month Events

April is National Fair Housing Month, in honor of the 1968 passage of the Fair Housing Act. Somerville will host a number of events celebrating the month, including a screening of the documentary Segregated By Design followed by conversation around fair housing and discrimination in the city. Check out our event listings below for a variety of other events! Davis Square Update…

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/04/02/fair-housing-month-events/

A Delicate Dance

Building new homes is absolutely critical, but it’s also expensive. Just a few years ago, the Globe estimated that multifamily buildings cost at least $600,000 per home, and a 100% affordable building that just broke ground in Union Square will cost more than $800,000 per home! If we don’t want to pay for construction ourselves, we need businesses to do it.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/03/25/a-delicate-dance/

The Latest Copper Mill Meeting

Last week, Copper Mill hosted a new meeting about their proposed 500-home mixed-use apartment building in Davis Square. With a capacity crowd at the Crystal Ballroom and hundreds more attendees viewing online, CEO Andrew Flynn laid out some new and familiar information about the proposal, including:  A commitment to union labor 25% of the apartments set aside as subsidized , up from the 20% city minimum…

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/03/20/the-latest-copper-mill-meeting/

The Displacement Time Bomb

Over the last 50 years, Massachusetts has focused on high-income job creation. It started with the “Massachusetts Miracle” and continued with the growth of Kendall Square as a technology hub. The latest addition to our “brain factory” has been the boom in biotechnology and the lab space that has come with it. Somerville, too, has joined to feed the demand for industries.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/02/27/the-displacement-time-bomb/

We’re proud to announce our 2026 election endorsements!

• Senate, 2nd Middlesex: Burhan Azeem
• House, 26th Middlesex: Mike Connolly
• House, 27th Middlesex: Ben Ewen-Campen
• House, 34th Middlesex: Will Mbah https://somervilleyimby.org/elections/2026-election-endorsements/ #maPoli #YIMBY