With Proposal to End Single-Family Zoning, Cambridge Positions Itself as National Leader

Cambridge is no stranger to ambitious housing policies, having set national precedents by abolishing parking requirements and enacting a sweeping plan to spur affordable development.

Now, the City Council is nearing a decision that could once again catapult Cambridge into the national spotlight: eliminating single-family zoning across the entire city.

After years of discussion, the Council has asked city officials to deliver a concrete proposal to allow up to six stories of multifamily housing in all residential districts by the end of this year, marking a dramatic shift from the city’s current zoning code.

If the proposal is adopted, Cambridge will join a small group of cities — including San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Austin, Texas — to completely abolish single-family zoning. By permitting six-story buildings across the board, the city is likely to establish itself as the most ambitious of the bunch.

“This reform would absolutely make Cambridge a leader nationwide,” said Harvard Economics professor Jason Furman ’92, the former chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under U.S. President Barack Obama.

The proposal comes as advocates of building dense, abundant affordable housing — the so-called “Yes In My Back Yard,” or “YIMBY” movement — have experienced a surge of energy across the country.

U.S. Vice President and presidential nominee Kamala Harris pledged to “end America’s housing shortage” during her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, while Obama himself took aim at “outdated laws and regulations” preventing housing development.

“You’re seeing more YIMBY enthusiasm from Democrats nationwide and just an increased focus on supply, and you can’t have supply without building, and you can’t have building without zoning reform,” Furman said.

Under the proposal, Cambridge would also be the first city in the Greater Boston area to allow multifamily housing to be developed by right.

“In the 100-percent Affordable Housing Overlay, we led there,” said A Better Cambridge Co-Chair Justin N. Saif ’99, referring to a policy allowing dense affordable housing across the city. “This is another place where we can lead.”

Though the proposal carries national symbolism, local housing advocates say its real significance comes in addressing the city’s severe affordable housing shortage.

Roughly one-third of residential land in Cambridge is currently zoned for single-family and two-family houses — which advocates and city officials alike point to as a remnant of racist mid-century housing policy.

The city currently has a goal of creating thousands of affordable housing units by 2030, a number that remains unattainable under the city’s current zoning. By allowing multifamily developments by right, developers can build considerably more units across the city, not just in already dense neighborhoods.

“It's enough units to put us near or at meeting our Envision Cambridge goal for affordable housing creation,” Saif said, referring to the city’s 2030 benchmarks. “As things currently stand, we're not on track to meet that goal.”

But the proposal still has a ways to go before becoming a reality.

Before any specific zoning language reaches the City Council, city officials will hold a series of public meetings where Cambridge residents will be able to give their feedback.

The community engagement period offers skeptics, such as the resident group Cambridge Citizens Coalition, an opportunity to raise concerns about the radical shift. In a May blog post, the group cited environmental and economic effects as reasons to reevaluate the zoning.

“This will take decades to all play out and by then mistakes that cannot be reversed will have taken place because of decisions made now,” the group wrote.

But advocates for loosening zoning restrictions say this concern stems from a misconception that rezoning will spark immediate, irreversible change.

“It doesn’t mean people are going to wake up and discover a ‘manhattanized’ Cambridge,” Magda Maaoui, a professor at the Graduate School of Design, wrote in an email. “Change is slow, and will most likely still happen through isolated, contextual, nondisruptive ways.”

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart or on Threads @laurel.shugart.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.