Gov. Healey talks about what her new economic development plan means for the state

Housing — and creating more of it — is at the center of a new draft economic development plan Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey introduced this week.

"I've said for a long time now, the greatest challenge facing our state really is housing and a lack of housing that people can afford," said Healey on WBUR's Radio Boston Thursday.

She broke the plan down to three areas: fundamentals, talent and sectors.

In terms of fundaments, Healey named addressing challenges in housing by increasing the production of units to lower costs, and improving the reliability of the MBTA. She touted MBTA General Manager Phil Eng's plan to eliminate slow zones on the transit system by the end of next year.

Residents aged 26 to 35 have been leaving the state, citing the cost of living as a major factor, according to an August report from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Healey says keeping these young workers in the state, and attracting other new residents, is crucial to maintaining and growing the state's economy.

"We're going to launch programs to attract college graduates, non-college graduates, immigrants, trades professions, that human talent that has always been a special sauce here in Massachusetts. Let's nurture it. Let's grow that," said Healey.

Finally, Healey noted the plan considers what sectors the state wants to lead in in the future. The governor named fields like life sciences, climate technology and applied artificial intelligence, as well as rural economies, tourism and culture.

Healey also talked about the more than $3.1-billion supplemental budget that she just signed that provides funding for the state's emergency shelter system, and the state of the MBTA. Click the red play button atop this post to listen to the rest of the interview.