Housing Report Shows Strong Economy, But Growing Poverty

A report out today from The Boston Foundation says the Greater Boston economy is booming — but the rising cost of living means that now, more than 16 percent of families are living in poverty.

According to the annual Greater Boston Housing Report Card, income inequality in the region remains among the highest of all metro areas in the U.S., with twice the proportion of people in Greater Boston making over $150,000 than in the nation.

The region's rents also reached an all-time high this year at $2,169 per month — 48 percent higher than in 2000.

According to the report:

Meeting Greater Boston’s housing needs today and into the future will require radical new thinking — across public, private, and nonprofit sectors — about zoning policy and opportunities to reduce the cost of housing construction so that reasonable target rates of return can be realized on market-rate and affordable workforce housing.

Barry Bluestone, senior research associate at the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy and professor of public policy and urban affairs at Northeastern University. He tweets @BarryBluestone.