The Latest from CommunityScale
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City of Lynn selects CommunityScale for zoning overhaul
The City of Lynn, Massachusetts selected CommunityScale to lead its comprehensive Zoning Code Rewrite, an initiative to modernize the city’s regulations in line with the Vision Lynn comprehensive plan and state law. The project…
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How to measure market demand with targeted housing market analysis
Gauging demand for new market-rate housing can be difficult, especially in communities where such development is not yet common. This post introduces CommunityScale’s targeted housing market analysis, an approach designed to help communities identify…
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Housing needs assessments for three Kentucky Buffalo Trace counties
CommunityScale completed housing needs assessments for Bracken, Mason, and Robertson Counties, three rural counties in Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace Area Development District. Each assessment gave its county a clear, data-driven picture of current and projected…
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El Paso Downtown + Uptown & Surrounding Neighborhoods Plan
El Paso’s downtown and uptown had not experienced the commercial and housing growth bringing vitality and economic diversification to peer cities. The City of El Paso Capital Improvement Department worked with Nels Nelson to…
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Malden adopts MBTA Communities Zoning
CommunityScale worked with the City of Malden to craft compliant zoning for the Massachusetts MBTA Communities requirement, and the City Council adopted it on December 12, 2023. The Planning Board had recommended the zoning…
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Housing Needs Assessment for Harrison County, Kentucky
CommunityScale completed a housing needs assessment for Harrison County and the City of Cynthiana, Kentucky, built around goals set with local leadership: accelerate moderate growth, preserve and expand attainable housing, and accommodate all housing…
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Which places have the best cost burden performance?
Working on housing needs assessments across the country, CommunityScale is often asked which places lead in keeping cost burden low, so this post sets out to answer. Measuring cost burden as the share of…
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General Code and CommunityScale sign a partnership agreement
CommunityScale takes pride in its strong partnerships with various businesses and organizations. Together, we combine our skills and technologies creatively to tackle the unique and significant challenges faced by communities, striving for innovative solutions.…
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An empirical approach to quantifying and modeling housing preferences
To be truly actionable, a good housing study depends on a detailed and nuanced model of housing market trends. The most effective approach focuses on modeling housing preferences to predict the choices local households…
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Having an impact on Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee decisions as a witness
CommunityScale has appeared as an expert witness before the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee four times, each ending in a positive outcome for building affordable housing, including the Medford DIV-Fellsway decision. The testimony centered on…
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North Attleboro Mixed Use Zoning
CommunityScale partnered with the Town of North Attleboro to update its downtown zoning, add a mixed-use overlay along its primary commercial corridor, and bring the town into compliance with the Massachusetts MBTA Communities law.…
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How CommunityScale forecasts households by income group
Forecasting future household income distribution is one of the most important and least understood steps in a housing needs assessment, and this post shows how CommunityScale does it. Using the ACS B19001 dataset, illustrated…
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Central Indiana Regional Housing Study
Communities across the Indianapolis metropolitan area needed a shared, current picture of their housing landscape to plan and collaborate more effectively. Working in partnership with Stantec Urban Places, CommunityScale completed a regional housing study…
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A new way to conduct and share housing needs assessments
CommunityScale is changing how housing needs assessments are delivered, replacing static reports with affordable, data-driven analyses presented as interactive websites. The approach makes findings easier to explore, share, and act on for communities and…
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Malden MBTA Communities zoning
CommunityScale worked with City of Malden staff and the City Council to bring the city into compliance with the Massachusetts MBTA Communities law, one of twelve rapid-transit communities required to comply by the end…
