As Lawmakers Slam the Door on the Unhoused, Harvard and Cambridge Must Act

Cambridge is home to two of the world’s richest and most prominent universities. So why are so many of its residents left without a place to sleep?

Pushed out of the housing market by sky-high prices, unhoused individuals no longer have even shelters to rely on. After state legislators moved last April to limit the length of stays at Emergency Assistance Shelters, the decision by Gov. Maura T. Healey ’92 (D-Mass) this summer to cap families’ stays in the state’s temporary respite shelters at five days — down from the previous 30 — is nothing short of pouring salt in an open wound. As state leaders ‘respond’ to the housing crisis by slamming the door on unhoused families, Harvard and Cambridge must act with urgency.

The first and most immediate step is expanding shelter capacity. The city must collaborate with local communities to designate hotels, community centers, or other available spaces as temporary shelters.

But shelters alone are not enough. Any lasting solution must address the root cause rather than the symptoms, and the root cause of the housing crisis is plainly that supply lags demand, pushing prices up. The only way to truly relieve the pressure in Cambridge and beyond is to build more housing that residents can actually afford.

To get there, single-family zoning must go. As the human stakes of this crisis become even more stark, there’s no justification for the outdated, exclusionary regulations that in much of Cambridge preclude denser, more affordable, mixed-use options that would benefit tenants, enliven neighborhoods, and send more revenue into the city’s coffers.

The City Council has already taken steps toward the end of single-family zoning. Now more than ever, it must get this done with haste.

The recent launch of the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority’s $10 million Housing Capital Fund offers another glimmer of hope. Inspired by a pilot project at 2400 Massachusetts Ave., the HCF aims to expand affordable housing options by investing in mixed-income multi-family projects that fulfill certain public needs.

While $10 million is a strong start, it pales in comparison with the scale of Cambridge’s housing shortfall. More investment must follow, as well as oversight of how developers — private ones, especially — make use of HCF funds.

And as a major landowner and stakeholder in both Cambridge and Allston, Harvard has a responsibility to play a larger role in alleviating this crisis. We’ve long called for the University to build more affordable housing in Allston, where Harvard has the land and the resources to make a real difference, and to make up for the property taxes it doesn’t pay in the city of Boston.

Because educational institutions don’t have to pay property taxes in the state of Massachusetts, Boston has since 2011 requested voluntary contributions from large nonprofit institutions equal to 25 percent of their would-be taxes under the auspices of the state’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes program.

Harvard’s response? Twelve straight years of blatant noncompliance — a smack in the face to a city grappling with urgent affordability needs.

The housing crisis is painfully visible and visibly urgent. While efforts like the push to abolish single-family zoning and the HCF represent strong first steps, more comprehensive zoning reforms and more ambitious investments are sorely needed.

On the issue of housing, Massachusetts lawmakers have abdicated responsibility, forcing unhoused families to pay the price for dysfunction on Beacon Hill. Harvard and Cambridge cannot do the same.

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.

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