This week, the release of a Rapid Health Impact Assessment of the proposed Just Cause Eviction Ordinance for Boston - months in the making - coincided with the formal filing of the legislation, after over a year of public debate and advocacy.  The study was conducted by a team of graduate students at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning, guided by City Life/Vida Urbana members and organizers, in collaboration with the Right to Remain Coalition.  It was funded by the Health Impact Project.

• Based on a literature review and input from stakeholders, this RHIA assesses the impact of the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance on factors that affect health, including stress and environmental exposures, and health conditions, including depression and substance use disorder.
• The populations most vulnerable to “no-cause” evictions in Boston struggle with disadvantages on several fronts, from educational attainment and income levels to physical and mental health challenges.
• Health effects for Boston renters stem from two predicted consequences of the ordinance: reduced incidence of eviction and reduced anticipation of eviction.
• The assessment finds that the ordinance may prevent eviction for a small number of people, but the health benefits for these people may be substantial. In contrast, the number of people who may experience reduced anticipation of eviction as a result of the ordinance is much larger – potentially the entire population of Boston renters, or over 400,000 people.
• If the Boston City Council adopts the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance and investigates and implements additional policies to reduce the overall incidence of eviction in Boston, it will likely improve renters’ health.
  

Click "read more" to see the executive summary, download the full report, get a plain-language version of the summary & report plus a discussion guide, and see a media roundup and more links on housing, displacement, and health.

JANUARY 15TH, 2016, Dudley Square, Roxbury: City Life/Vida Urbana joined forces with Jobs with Justice, Dudley St. Neighborhood Initiative, Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), Dorchester People for Peace, and dozens of other neighbors to stand with Felicha Young and other residents who remain in the wake of a building "clear out". Felicha has lived in her apartment for 16 years and, like many longtime Boston residents, cannot afford the escalating rents around her. READ MORE by clicking below:

In this video, Dorchester residents testify to the Director of Fannie Mae, Timothy Mayopoulos, about Fannie Mae attempting to sell their homes on auction.com. City Life/Vida Urbana pledges to block any evictions of our members from these homes. Meanwhile, a non-profit group, the Coalition for Occupied Homes in Foreclosure (COHIF), has made several offers to Fannie Mae to buy the homes. COHIF hopes to turn the 5 homes into permanently affordable housing. Fannie Mae continues to reject the offers as evictions loom.

Landmark Agreement Brings Property Managers, Tenant Advocates Together on Affordable Housing

Longstanding tension leads to breakthrough on housing costs in Boston

BOSTON – Tenant advocates and property managers today announced a landmark agreement to increase the availability of affordable housing in the Greater Boston area. Formally signed in May, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) [see attached] between City Realty Management,
City Life/Vida Urbana, and the Chinese Progressive Association was a long time in the making – following years of discord between the groups.