Bill > H1479

This bill establishes a comprehensive housing policy simulator for Massachusetts that will be developed by the executive office in collaboration with academic institutions, development agencies, community members, and other stakeholders. The simulator will be a sophisticated modeling tool that incorporates a wide range of data and factors, including municipal zoning ordinances, state and federal housing policies, census data, land use information, real-time datasets, housing market indicators (such as rent rates, vacancy rates, and housing prices), development feasibility models, financing costs, and climate change impacts. The bill envisions creating a public-facing online portal that would allow users to interactively adjust model assumptions and policy inputs to explore potential future housing scenarios at both local and statewide levels. The simulator's design may draw inspiration from existing modeling tools like the En-ROADS climate simulator and the Terner Housing Policy Dashboard, with the ultimate goal of providing a flexible, data-driven platform to help policymakers and stakeholders understand the complex dynamics of housing policy and potential interventions.

Housing and Urban Affairs

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1479