It’s too expensive to keep things the same

Cambridge Historical Commission A proposal near Harvard Square would build a hotel around the Harriet Jacobs house at 17 Story St.

Cambridge now has, arguably, the highest rents in the nation . We’re leading all 50 states in child care costs . And the costs of groceries, meals out and basic necessities just keep climbing. We are not just matching U.S. metro standards, we lead the nation in high costs. No wonder so many of our neighbors are thinking of leaving .

These prices aren’t the result of bad luck. They’re the direct outcome of decades of policy choices – choices that made it nearly impossible to build homes in most of our city. Until recently, much of Cambridge’s residential zoning wouldn’t even allow a triple-decker, let alone the kinds of affordable apartments that on