MHP supports creation of sustainable land use vision with grant from the Barr Foundation

BOSTON --- The Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) has received a $260,000 grant from the Barr Foundation to support a project called “Coordinated Commonwealth: A Shared Vision for Sustainable Land Use, Growth, and Mobility in Massachusetts.”

The two-year grant will allow MHP to create a roadmap for the future of state planning. It involves partnering with stakeholders and conducting research and analysis to create a shared vision for Massachusetts that knits together policy priorities across housing, land use, climate, environmental protection, transportation, and economic health.

MHP will also

• develop an agreed upon way to measure progress and where to direct future efforts to help the Commonwealth, regions, municipalities, advocates, and other stakeholders to target and maximize the impacts of financing, programs, technical assistance, and policy development.
• produce a highly interactive website that provides visitors with contextual framing around the intersection of planning sectors, the ability to interact and explore the data in multiple ways, and to export all data and visualizations from the website for use in their own reports, presentations, and advocacy materials.
• create a suite of online resources that will include inspiring examples and proven strategies for implementing comprehensive planning on the local level in a manner consistent and commensurate with state and regional imperatives.
• produce and disseminate materials that lay out the shared comprehensive vision for Massachusetts, as well as key ideas and strategies identified by the project that can be used to advocate for the policies, legislation, and other measures that would move MHP and stakeholders to a shared vision.

This is MHP’s second grant from the Barr Foundation. In 2022 MHP received a $1 million grant to support its 3A-TA program to assist communities in complying with the MBTA Communities Law.

MHP is a public, nonprofit organization that expands access to affordable housing and promotes housing equity in communities across the Commonwealth. Founded in 1985, MHP is now a 70+ employee organization with a strategic focus on investing resources on evidence-based best practices and evidence-generating investments.

For press inquiries, contact MHP Communications Manager Lisa Braxton.