Maine Better

Discussions on Maine transportation, commerce, and issues

Maine Better – Local Zonings Role in the Housing Shortage and Systemic Racism – Nov 17 2024

With a history of segregated housing zones and antiquated thinking, zoning restrictions are one of the biggest problems when it comes to increasing inclusive, affordable housing. Yes To Housing host Orion Breen speaks with Pedro Vazquez of the South Portland Human Rights Commission and Jeff Levine of MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning about the housing crisis and systemic racism. Hannah LaClaire of the Portland Press Herald recently published an article on research indicating that even luxury apartments can actually help solve the housing crisis because as the number of homes grows in an area, prices tend to fall and lower-cost units get freed up. And Victoria Morales of the Quality Housing Coalition talks about speaking in favor of housing at town meetings, watch our first episode with Sonja Trauss and Todd Morse for more about how anyone can show up at a town meeting in favor of housing and make a difference

    Maine Better – Housing – National Priority You Can Help Fix Locally – Nov 17 2024

    Find out how anyone can show up at a local town meeting and make a difference when it comes to housing with Todd Morse, founder of the Urbanist Coalition of Portland, Maine www.urbanistportland.me and Sonja Trauss, California YIMBY Movement Founder www.yimbyaction.org. Obama let loose his inner housing policy nerd at the Democratic National Convention and housing is the center piece of Kamala’s economic agenda. Governor Tim Walz has made housing a top priority as has Governor Janet Mills of Maine too. Greg Payne, Senior Housing Advisor to Governor Mills, says Maine needs 84,000 new housing units by 2030. It’s a tall order for a small population state, but if everyone across the country is saying housing is too expensive and there’s not enough of it, could we actually succeed in saying Yes To Housing in our local communities? At GPCOG’s housing summit this year you had the rare occurrence of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce at the same table as the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), and they were both agreeing that housing is a top issue. Businesses and environmentalist agree, in Maine and across the country, it is imperative we do something about housing. But it is regular people moving from caring about housing and complaining about housing to actually doing something about it, that is really moving the needle. Thank you to the MEREDA Matters podcast and to GPCOG for access to their housing summit audio. Thank you for listening and sharing and being a part of the Yes To Housing movement.

      Maine Better Transportation Assoc – May 31, 2024

      Funding transportation infrastructure with Sen. Brad Farrin and Rep. Lydia Crafts, get a bipartisan view of the big transportation news coming out of the Maine State Legislature and the Transportation Committee, including highway funding.

        Maine Better – Angus King – 5-12-21

        Senator Angus King talks about infrastructure negotiations right before President Biden agreed to the bipartisan deal. Senator King also shares his views on voting rights, innovative forest products and sense of pride fixing his first car as a teenager