Cambridge's Housing Shortage DRAFT
Cambridge's Housing Shortage THIS IS A DRAFT After reading comment that appeared on Cambridge Day, I realized that there may be a misunderstanding about the causes (and potential solutions) to our housing shortage. The following isn’t meant to take sides in any debate, but to simply provide a bit more background. Most importantly, housing shortages aren’t confined to the Boston area. This is a global problem that’s being dealt with in a number of ways. For example, China has been constructing entire cities not just for their current population, but for their projected population. Some cities have created areas of high density such as Rosslyn in Arlington VA and Manhattan’s Hudson Yards. Other cities are simply densifying and driving out lower income residents. Historically, most cities began as small settlements and expanded and densified due to migration and population growth. Some cities have found that uncontrolled and/or unplanned growth has had serious repercussions. F