We Shall Not Be Moved: Advocacy and Policy in a Rapidly Changing Boston by Carey Lucia Dunfey B.A. Anthropology University of Vermont (2010) Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in City Planning at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY June 2017 2017 Carey Dunfey All rights reserved The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. A Signature redacted Author..... ....................... ......... .......... Deprtmenlf Urban Studies and Planning May 24, 2017 Signature redacted Mav Certified by. .. ..................... Justin Steil Assistant Professor Signature redacted Thesis Supervisor Accepted by........... ------------..................... u-M81SUAX ITUTE P. Christopher Zegras OF TECHNOLOGY. Associate Professor Chair, MCP Committee JU14 201I LIBRARIES ARCHIVES We Shall Not Be Moved: Advocacy and Policy in a Rapidly Changing Boston by Carey Lucia Dunfey Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning on May 24, 2017 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in City Planning Abstract The ability to access affordable, stable, and good quality housing has become an increasing concern for policymakers, community advocates, and activists in growing urban metros across the United States. In Boston, population growth and rising housing costs have spurred new development of luxury housing and renovation of existing residential buildings, putting pressure on existing neighborhood tenants and homeowners. As a response to these phenomena, perceived as contributing to a displacement and eviction crisis in Boston, organizations within the Right to the City Alliance proposed legislation that they felt would "slow down" the processes leading to eviction of tenants in larger buildings and former homeowners in their foreclosed properties. The Jim Brooks Community Stabilization Act, formerly the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, if implemented, would ensure residents are notified of their rights in eviction proceedings and allow them to be evicted only for certain "just causes." Since 2014, advocates have been working to get this legislation drafted and passed in the Boston City Council. This research seeks to understand why and how advocates proposed this act and what barriers it faces in implementation. I argue that despite gaining support from the Mayor's Office and being an intentionally mild bill, opposition from large and small property owners and the real estate industry has shaped the conversation around the act, leading to both confusion and resistance to its passing. In this case study, I discuss the difficulties of drafting and passing progressive housing policy in increasingly unaffordable urban areas and the need for a broader conversation about the right to housing for residents. Thesis Advisor: Justin Steil, Assistant Professor Reader: Ingrid Gould Ellen, Visiting Professor 2 Acknowledgments I am thankful for so many people who have helped me through this process and through these incredible two years at DUSP. To my thesis advisor Justin, thank you so much for your patience, advice, and kindness throughout this entire process and for challenging me to always dig deeper. Our conversations have inspired me to think critically and clearly. To my reader Ingrid, thank you for your clarity and encouragement to be sharper. To my parents, thank you for your unwavering support, for being so understanding, open with your space and love, and for always having a story to tell. You have instilled in me a curiosity for life that has lead me on so many great adventures. To Max and Mia, thank you for a life of laugh attacks, for being the best travel buddies, and for always being there at the top of the stairs on our favorite day. To my entire DUSP family, especially my cohort, I would list you all if I could. I would not be here without all of your love and hilarity. You've kept me critical, accountable, and, most of all, sane. And, finally, so much love to my beautiful neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, which has shaped my worldview and been the space of so many memorable, challenging, and incredible relationships. 3 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Housing and Eviction................................................................................................................ 5 Research, Motivations, and Methods............................................................................. 8 Contextualizing the Issue................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1. BOSTON CONTEXT AND HOUSING STABILITY ........................................... 10 1.1 Dem ographics and Housing..................................................................................... 10 1.2 Housing Affordability in Boston............................................................................. 10 1.3 Housing Insecurity...................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Activism Around Housing Rights in Boston....................................................... 21 1 .5 P o litics................................................................................................................................... 2 3 1.6 Election of Marty W alsh and Imagine Boston................................................. 25 CHAPTER 2. A POLICY APPROACH TO HOUSING INSECURITY...................................... 27 2.1 W hy a Community Stabilization Act?....................................................................... 27 2.2 Political Responses...................................................................................................... 30 2.3 City Council Hearings................................................................................................... 32 2.4 Jim Brooks Community Stabilization Act............................................................... 35 CHAPTER 3 . A D V O CA CY ...................................................................................................................... 4 0 3.1 Advocacy and Strategy.............................................................................................. 41 3.2 Data Collection Challenges..................................................................................... 44 3.3 Notification of Rights................................................................................................... 49 3.4 Just Cause Eviction and Rent Control................................................................ 52 3.5 P ro p erty Righ ts.................................................................................................................. 6 0 CHAPTER 4: BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION.................................................................. 65 4.1 Disinvestment and the Neoliberal City............................................................... 65 4.2 Public and Private Reinvestment in Boston....................................................... 66 4.3 Advocacy and Capacity.............................................................................................. 69 4.4 Real Estate Interests................................................................................................... 72 CH A PT ER 5: D ISCU SSION .................................................................................................................... 74 5.1 Political Prom ise........................................................................................................... 77 CO N CLU SIO N ............................................................................................................................................ 80 B IB LIO G RA PHY........................................................................................................................................ 82 A PPEN D IX.................................................................................................................................................. 91 4 Introduction "Poverty was a relationship,I thought, involving poor and rich people alike. To understandpoverty, I needed to understandthat relationship. That sent me searching for a process that bound poor and rich people together in mutual dependence and struggle. Eviction was such a process." Desmond 2016: 317 Housing and Eviction In early 2016, Matthew Desmond released his groundbreaking book, Evicted, which chronicles the day-to-day experiences of low-income renters and property owners he lived alongside of in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His empathetic approach to documenting the severity of housing instability reveals the interconnectedness of eviction and poverty, forcing the reader to re-conceptualize their ideas of the "deserving" and "undeserving" poor. He weaves in a conversation on systemic racism and cycles of poverty, showing African American renters, and particularly black women with children, as repeatedly facing discrimination in securing stable housing. His narrative, intimate work shows the perspectives of both renters and landlords in a variety of mentally and emotionally challenging circumstances. Maintaining a relatively impartial gaze throughout the book, it is only at the end that he