November
1
1946
Residential Area Survey (1946)
A postwar report by the Massachusetts State Planning Board in 1946 found that 57 percent of prime land available for housing development (tracts greater than 5 acres served by public water) in the Commonwealth’s major metropolitan areas was zoned to allow multifamily housing. At that time the federal government recommended development at 5 units per acre (8,000 square foot lots) for single-family housing, 12 units per acre for townhouses, and 20 units per acre for apartments.