Recap of CHAPA's Recent Springfield Forum

We at CHAPA were so pleased to partner with WayFinders earlier this week to present a forum in Springfield, “Who Shapes Local Housing Decision? New Evidence from MA Zoning Meetings”.
 
This forum highlighted the research of Katherine Levine Einstein, Maxwell Palmer, and David Glick of Boston University. Presented by Katherine Levine Einstein, their report “Who Participates in Local Government? Evidence from Meeting Minutes" demonstrated that voices in opposition to new housing development are overwhelming public meetings, hearings on zoning, and land use decisions. The report also found that individuals who are older, male, long-time residents, voters in local elections, and homeowners are significantly more likely to participate in these meetings, leaving those with barriers to participation out of the decision-making process.
 
A moderated panel discussion then explored the implications of these participatory inequalities, the impacts on housing development and costs, and ways to forge greater inclusivity around local housing decisions. We are so grateful to our Moderator, Preston H. Smith II from Mount Holyoke College, and our panelists, Jeff Bagg from the City of Easthampton, Joanne Campbell from Valley Community Development Corporation and Darcy Jameson from Beacon Communities Development LLC, for joining us to share their unique experiences, concerns, and strategies for fostering broader engagement and representation in their work.

Many thanks as well to WayFinders for hosting the event and the audience for their participation, engagement in the discussion, and generation of ideas to create a more inclusive and representative public input process.
 
In case you missed it, we've included Katherine Levine Einstein's PowerPoint and Darcy Jameson's PowerPoint, as well as a handout summarizing the report’s key findings here.
 
This forum was presented as part of CHAPA’s Municipal Engagement Initiative. To learn more about this work, please visit our Municipal Engagement Initiative page.

Thanks again for joining us!