Recap: Accelerating Housing Supply: Practical Strategies for Every Community

In a recent webinar, Jenny Raitt, Executive Director of the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments in Massachusetts, shared a practical roadmap for addressing the region’s housing shortages: one grounded in measurable goals, modernized and transparent processes, data-driven decisions, and broader public engagement.

Jenny connected today’s housing pressures to decades of underbuilding, arguing that the widening gap between housing supply and community need has become a major constraint. She pointed to several drivers that keep supply from catching up: skilled labor shortages, supply-chain volatility, outdated codes, financing hurdles, restrictive zoning, and fragmented review processes that slow projects and drive up costs.

She also shared a repeatable roadmap for increasing housing delivery: use data to quantify need and set measurable targets; build cross-sector collaboration; and align planning, zoning, permitting, and financing around shared goals. She emphasized permitting modernization in particular: mapping every review “touchpoint,” removing duplicative steps, and improving transparency for both applicants and the public. She noted that technology can streamline these critical steps and must be paired with strong implementation and staff training by municipalities.

Jenny reflected that, ultimately, progress depends on setting measurable goals, modernizing and making the development process visible, and grounding decisions in data through a broader, better-informed public conversation.

The webinar presentation can be downloaded here, and the recording is below:

Want to build on the insights from the webinar? Forerunner helps communities modernize and manage permitting from end to end - all in one platform. From centralizing permit applications and requirements to streamlining reviews, inspections, and approvals, Forerunner makes it easier for staff to move projects forward with clear workflows, better visibility, and faster turnaround times. Request a demo or reach out to hello@withforerunner.com - we’d love to connect.