BOSTON (June 7, 2022) – As the cost of housing in Massachusetts continues to skyrocket, GBH News is launching a new multiplatform series looking at how the housing crisis has moved beyond Boston into communities across the state once considered affordable. Priced Out: The Fight for Housing in Massachusetts will give voice to individuals and families struggling to stay in their homes in East Boston, Lynn, Brockton and Worcester.
U.S. Census data shows that between 2011 and 2021, single-family home values increased more than 200% in East Boston, 150% in Lynn, 150% in Brockton, and 100% in Worcester. Priced Out will put the focus on how those rising values attract welcome investment even as they force longtime residents into an increasingly elusive search for a new place to live.
“Everyone deserves a place to call home. Finding a place to live – and being able to afford it long-term – is at the core of the American Dream and is the delineator between the haves and the have-nots. Yet, it is increasingly out of reach for all but affluent families across Massachusetts,” said Lee Hill, executive editor at GBH News. “With Priced Out, we’ll bring the public along as we unpack how the current affordable housing crisis impacts Bostonians and other communities across the state. And we’ll put a spotlight on the policies and systems that prevent a more equitable and diverse range of people from getting a fair leg up in the pursuit of affordable housing as a basic human right.”
Over a quarter of all renters in Massachusetts spend half of their income or more to stay in their homes. In addition, recent reporting from the GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting revealed that Massachusetts housing stock is increasingly owned by shrouded corporations and investors, from Springfield to Nantucket.
“The high cost of housing impacts the larger economy and we anticipate it will be a key issue in the statewide November elections. We aim to spark a dialogue across communities as we examine the impact and possible solutions to the affordability crisis,” said GBH News Director of Special Projects Stephanie Leydon, who is leading the Priced Out team.
Leydon, who headed up the New England Emmy Award-winning series COVID and the Classroom and The Big Quit, is joined by reporters Sarah Betancourt, who will focus on East Boston; Sam Turken, who will focus on Worcester; Liz Neisloss, who will focus on Brockton; and Adam Reilly, who will cover stories from Lynn. The series will also feature videos from Senior Producer Emily Judem and still images from Director of Photography Meredith Nierman. The Priced Out team will continue to investigate the Massachusetts affordable housing crisis through the fall.
Priced Out stories will be published across all GBH News platforms, including GBH 89.7 FM, GBH 2, GBH News Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the GBH News website. Follow along with this community-oriented reporting at gbhnews.org/pricedout.
About GBH News
GBH News is among the fastest-growing local news providers in Greater Boston and draws on the talent of a multiplatform newsroom that includes GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; television; and digital reporting. The GBH newsroom continues to invest in substantive local coverage and has established dedicated desks for higher education, politics, innovation and investigations as well as unique partnerships to expand on that commitment, including with WNYC’s The Takeaway, The World from PRX and The GroundTruth Project. GBH News partners with CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station; and New England Public Media in western Massachusetts, to connect the Commonwealth with trusted journalism. GBH News maintains bureaus at the Massachusetts State House; Dorchester, Boston’s largest neighborhood; and Worcester. The Forum Network, part of GBH News, collects thousands of video and audio lectures from the world's foremost scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policymakers and community leaders and makes them available online to the public for free.
