Housing Innovation Lab
The Housing Innovation Lab tests new approaches to housing policy, programs and design to accelerate housing production and create affordable housing opportunities for all Bostonians.
Boston is an incredible place to live—it’s no surprise that projections tell us that the city’s population is expected to exceed 700,000 people by 2030. This growth creates increased demand for housing, challenging our ability to provide affordable housing for all. The Housing Innovation Lab (iLab) is the City’s space to prototype new housing policies and programs to make Boston an affordable place to call home. We want to ensure that the Boston of tomorrow does not displace the Boston of today!
TO DO THIS, THE HOUSING INNOVATION LAB:
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Unpacks complex problems through strategic research methods
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Uses human-centered design to explore, experiment, and evaluate potential solutions
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Works collaboratively with our partners to deliver change that meets the needs of Bostonians
Happy 10th Birthday, Housing iLab! Read more about our work over the past decade.
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26 Court Street
Boston, MA 02108 -
OFFICE HOURS
The best ideas come from insights from residents and the people who serve them. Have an insight or idea you'd like to share with us? Write to us using this multilingual form or schedule a virtual brainstorm session during our biweekly office hours.
Current Focus Areas
Demystifying and Decreasing Development Costs
We're seeking to ground-truth what it costs to develop market-rate and affordable housing in Boston using real city data.
Developing New Models of Affordable Homeownership
We’re partnering with developers, financers, and service providers to create new models of affordable homeownership.
Supporting Affordable Co-Housing and Co-Living
We're exploring ways to support shared living as a way to make housing affordable while we increase supply.
Our Past projects
Additional Dwelling Unit
We want to streamline the process for homeowners looking to create a rental unit.
Housing with Public Assets
Could building housing on top of — or next to — City buildings, such as libraries and community centers, benefit our communities?
Renting to Own
We're partnering with developers, financers, and service providers to create new models of affordable homeownership that provide opportunities for renters to start building equity in their homes.
Future Decker
We challenged stakeholders to design Boston's newest missing middle building typology.
Intergenerational Homeshare
We’re offering affordable housing to graduate students while helping local homeowners and communities.
Plugin Housing Initiative
Demonstrating the possibilities of backyard homes and smaller living to provide housing affordable to all.
Compact Living
A new type of residential development that uses well-designed efficient space, shared common spaces, and transportation incentives.
Urban Housing Unit
Through our interactive exhibit, we heard from the community about what they think about smaller living.
Housing Innovation Competition
We asked development teams to propose innovative compact living designs.
Get Involved
Have an idea about how to make Boston an affordable place for all? We want to hear it. Share your idea with us using this multilingual form and/or sign up to attend office hours.
STUDENTS
The Housing Innovation Lab offers summer and academic year fellowships. Fill out our Fellowship Interest Form and we’ll notify you of upcoming application cycles.
Professors
We love working with academic institutions. Have an idea about how we can collaborate to house our City? Share it with us and we'll be in touch.
Who's Involved:
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26 Court Street
Boston, MA 02108 -
OFFICE HOURS
The best ideas come from insights from residents and the people who serve them. Have an insight or idea you'd like to share with us? Write to us using this multilingual form or schedule a virtual brainstorm session during our biweekly office hours.
