Student’s Research Protects Affordable Housing

John Fraser, graduate student in the Regional Economic and Social Development program

While redevelopment of the Hamilton Canal District and the Jackson/ Appleton/ Middlesex (JAM) areas of Lowell are earning praise for their promise to promote economic development in an underutilized part of the city, the Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA) and other community organizations wanted to ensure that the number of existing market-rate, affordable housing units were not negatively affected by proposed changes.

These community organizations approached UMass Lowell’s Dr. David Turcotte for help gathering data on the area’s affordable units so that information may be shared with key City departments as plans progress. 

“We wanted to provide the city with data outlining exactly what the housing stock was in the JAM area, specifically those market-rate affordable units,” says John Fraser, a graduate student in the Regional Economic and Social Development program who has made the data gathering part of his research assistantship. 

Fraser has assessed all properties within the area, gathering information about number of units, number of tenants, rental rates and key landlords. He’s also compiled statistics from the City assessor’s office and other key groups, combining all the information into a briefing paper presented last week to Lowell’s Chief Planner, George Proakis.

“It’s exciting to conduct field research and provide people with the information they need to ensure that the important supply of market-rate, affordable housing remains secure.  We weren’t sure how the city would react to our data and recommendations, but the reception was very positive.”

For more information, contact David_Turcotte@uml.edu.