Metro Boston officials set goal of 185,000 new housing units

Officials from Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and a dozen other area cities and towns are hoping to create 185,000 units of new housing over the next dozen years to meet the increasing demand of a growing population in the metropolitan area.

The announcement came a week after Mayor Marty Walsh upped his goal for new housing in Boston from 53,000 units to nearly 70,000 by 2030.

The population surge isn’t happening just in Boston.

Since 2010, the 15 cities and towns in the Metro Mayors Coalition have added nearly 110,000 residents while permitting only 32,500 units of new housing.

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said Tuesday that the region is in the midst of a housing emergency that has had disastrous impacts on individuals and families.

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