BOSTON – New flood-zone maps put out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency expand the boundaries of parts of Boston at risk of being inundated and that may require thousands of property owners to buy flood insurance for the first time.
The new maps reassess the risk of flooding in coastal areas of Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop during the most severe storms, or those that are likely to occur only once in a century. According to Boston City Hall, more than 1,000 city acres with more than 9,300 residential units and over 2,400 businesses have been added to at-risk zones in the city alone. The maps become effective March 16.
BOSTON – Boston's pipeline to create affordable housing last year reached its highest level since record-keeping began, according to City Hall, which also said more than 28,000 city households would qualify for the units if enough existed.
Even so, the city said the proportion of housing that is classed as "affordable" is higher than any other major city in the country, at 19 percent.
