Housing

After World War II, and in the past couple of decades, particularly, Acton has undergone a shift to being a bedroom community for more-or-less affluent people seeking excellent schools, single-family housing (and increasingly, luxury housing), car access for jobs in the greater Boston area, and a materially wealthy lifestyle. (Of course, not everyone who has moved to Acton fits this profile, but it does capture a significant demographic.) The number of single-family houses grew very rapidly, and undeveloped land rapidly disappeared.Now, new housing in Acton is still sought after, but is somewhat constrained by zoning and the availability of unbuilt land that can be developed. The priorities of the state and town have also shifted somewhat, and now the need for more affordable housing is more widely recognized, both to house the people that work already in and near Acton and can’t afford most of what the market has to offer, and as part of a larger effort to provide housing, regionally and statewide, for those with smaller incomes, for whom there are not enough affordable places to live.

Green Acton recognizes the need to increase housing access for those that have been historically excluded from good housing choices, such as people of low and moderate incomes, racial minorities, and those with disabilities. It has been an ongoing challenge within Green Acton to balance that need with the recognition that each new housing development comes with an environmental cost.