[VT Boston, MA] March 21, 2025 — The City of Boston has released its first-ever Anti-Displacement Action Plan, titled A Place to Thrive, outlining a coordinated two-year strategy aimed at stabilizing residents, small businesses, and cultural organizations vulnerable to direct or economic displacement.
The announcement, made by Mayor Michelle Wu during her State of the City address, highlights Boston’s growing focus on equitable urban development.
“To be a home for everyone, we must keep our residents, small businesses and cultural spaces rooted in our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Wu. “Our city’s growth must help stabilize communities and deepen roots.”
The plan builds upon two foundational reports developed by the City’s Planning Advisory Council, which collected two years of community feedback and evaluated current anti-displacement tools. The new Action Plan integrates and enhances these tools while introducing targeted initiatives to address gaps and community concerns.
Key initiatives in the plan include:
- Co-Purchasing Homebuyer Program: Financial support to enable multiple low- to moderate-income households to jointly purchase two- or three-family homes.
- Expanded Condominium Conversion Ordinance: Extends protections to tenants in buildings with two or more units, ensuring proper notice, relocation assistance, and purchase opportunities.
- Office to Residential Conversion Expansion: Now includes student and workforce housing.
- Direct Displacement Disclosure: Developers must disclose potential displacement during project reviews and work with affected tenants on relocation strategies.
- Business Site-Finding Assistance: Helps match small businesses with vacant storefronts in neighborhood commercial districts.
- Commercial Acquisition Assistance Program: Offers financial tools for small businesses to secure property ownership.
- Civic and Cultural Infrastructure Framework: Establishes a citywide strategy for expanding cultural spaces.
Organized around the pillars Protect, Preserve, Produce, and Prosper, the plan targets the prevention of displacement, promotion of affordable housing, and creation of conditions for long-term community wealth building.
A newly launched Residential Displacement Risk Map offers an interactive tool to assess neighborhood-level risk and guide future planning and investment.
Community leaders and housing advocates have expressed strong support. “We must create more housing and stabilize the existing market,” said Marc Draisen, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Karen Chen of the Chinese Progressive Association praised the inclusion of tenant protections and wealth-building tools, while Armani White of Reclaim Roxbury called the plan “a long-awaited step toward development without displacement.”
