Fair Housing Month Events

April is National Fair Housing Month, in honor of the 1968 passage of the Fair Housing Act. Somerville will host a number of events celebrating the month, including a screening of the documentary Segregated By Design followed by conversation around fair housing and discrimination in the city. Check out our event listings below for a variety of other events!

Davis Square Neighborhood Council board elections will be held THIS MONTH. If you live nearby or are a Davis Square stakeholder in any other way, make sure your voice is heard by visiting davissquarenc.org/membership and signing up as a voting member in advance of upcoming board elections.

This six-month fellowship is designed for city and town councilors, select and planning board members, and members of local boards and commissions who can impact housing. Participants will gain key insights into housing challenges and opportunities throughout Massachusetts and become more prepared to support housing in their communities. Learn more at CHAPA.org.

April 3: Somerville YIMBY Monthly Social — We’d love to see you in person! 6:00 pm, in person at Remnant Brewing, Bow Market.

April 3: Measuring the Impact of State Pro-Housing Policies: Empirical Traps to Avoid — How can we measure the impact of changes to housing policy? When will we know how they’re working? Find out as the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies hosts housing policy expert and scholar Jenny Schuetz. 1:00 pm, online.

April 8: Somerville YIMBY Monthly Meeting — Agenda will include elections, Copper Mill, dormers, and general upzoning. 6:00 pm, online via Zoom.

April 10: Small Landlord Fair Housing Info Session: Learn about your rights and responsibilities, city programs to help you and your tenants, incentives for renting to Section 8 tenants, and more. 10:00 am, Council on Aging, 167 Holland St. RSVP to Debby at 617-625-6000, ext 2321.

April 14: Beyond Urban Renewal: Retooling Redevelopment Authorities to Create Social Housing in Massachusetts — A new Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies report examines how redevelopment authorities in Massachusetts might support social housing. Hybrid, ticketed event, 4:00 - 6:00 pm.

April 16: Land Use/Planning Board joint meeting — Agenda will include Somerville YIMBY’s dormer amendment (but not public comment). 6:30 pm, online via Zoom.

April 16: Segregated by Design Screening & Discussion: The Somerville Fair Housing Commission presents a screening and discussion of the film Segregated By Design. 6:30 - 8:00 pm, in person at the Central Library, 79 Highland Ave.

April 17: Tenants and Landlords and Section 8 — Attorney Todd Kaplan presents information for tenants and landlords alike about how to use Section 8 vouchers.

The Single-Family Home Gets Caught in a Political Vise: Banning corporate ownership of single-family homes is popular, but it also bans a lot of useful construction.

Who Gets to Live in a Single-Family Home? Henry Grabar points out just how bad this sort of ban would be for renters.

New study links single-family rental housing to improved student achievement: The debate is not merely academic. A new study shows that the availability of rentals in high-opportunity neighborhoods boosted student achievement for the children who moved into them.

The skyscrapers that NIMBYs and zoning couldn't stop: Out in Vancouver, the Squamish nation’s Sen̓áḵw project continues to shine.

San Diego rents declined more than 19 of nation’s top 20 markets following surge in supply: “The report found that there was about a 15% increase in active listings in San Diego over that timeframe…”