In an effort to combat suburban sprawl, $22 million of the $100 million Massachusetts Priority Development Fund plan unveiled last week will go to build mixed-income housing near MBTA stations, Gov. Mitt Romney announced last week.
The initiative is part of Romney’s focus on “smart growth,” a plan to further develop established areas to prevent suburban sprawl, reduce reliance on cars and use existing infrastructure.
Environmental activists say creating affordable housing in the city, especially near mass transit, will keep people from building new housing on undeveloped land in the suburbs. They also say more people living near the T will reduce fuel emissions and preserve natural resources.
“Any time you can create housing near public transportation, it’s a good thing,” said Jeremy Marin, sprawl and transportation organizer for the Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club. “This is a classic example of where environmental protection and economic growth meet.”
According to the Sierra Club’s website, sprawl, defined as “scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space,” is threatening people’s health, quality of life and the environment.
The quasi-governmental agency MassHousing will lend the funds to developers whose plans meet the “smart growth” plan, as well as other stipulations, such as financial feasibility, a need for funds and the number of units designated for lower-income residents.
MassHousing spokesman Eric Gedstad characterized the agency as “basically a bank” and said developers and the real estate market, rather than MassHousing, will largely dictate when the new housing will be completed. However, he speculated that the agency will award funds over three years, and then housing will probably be built within another two years.
Gedstad said the privately-owned and managed developments will not be public housing, as 75 to 80 percent of the units will rent at the market rate and 20 to 25 percent will be considered “affordable.” He also said many more people are eligible for affordable housing than commonly expected. For example, a Boston family of four with an income of $62,650 would be eligible.
Gedstad said getting people to move into affordable housing is never a problem, and many new developments boast amenities such as pools, clubhouses and gyms.
Boston University Sociology professor and associate department Chairman Daniel Monti said he thinks the plan is a good idea.
“Building mixed-income housing near T stations is a good idea, and, if successful, would put lower-income folks in prime real estate,” Monti said in an email. “But the economic costs attached to such projects may be too high precisely because they would be sitting on land that was more expensive.”
Although the Sierra Club supports Romney’s plan, Marin said the administration could be spending more money on public transportation projects instead of new highway projects such as the Sagamore Rotary, a rotary on Cape Cod known for causing traffic troubles.
“More transit-oriented development will create more jobs, allow people to take public transportation, not sit in traffic and will reduce pollution,” he said.
He said developments will be good for the economy because they will create jobs for construction and mass-transit workers and move people closer to retail stores. He said the Sierra Club wants to work with the government to make more public transportation available to people in ways that will fuel the economy.