Boston Identifies 1,200 Underutilized City Parcels for Housing and Community Development

BOSTON — July 20, 2026 — Boston launches public land audit identifying 1,200 city-owned parcels for housing and community development. Mayor Michelle Wu announced Monday at Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown that a cross-departmental audit has catalogued more than 1,200 vacant or underutilized city-owned parcels totaling 9.5 million square feet, ranging from empty parking lots to crumbling buildings. Chief of Planning Arthur Jemison said the BPDA alone has identified 250 parcels and described the audit as the foundation of "a public-private partnership pipeline where we get to say, partnering with neighbors, can we turn this parking lot into a combination of housing, at all different income levels, open space." Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon said the portfolio spans small homeownership sites, large mixed-income development parcels, and properties suited for supportive housing serving homeless residents. City Councilor Kenzie Bach, chair of the COVID Recovery Committee, said she plans to direct American Rescue Plan dollars toward public-land development. Audit results are available at boston.gov/housing in five languages, accompanied by an interactive mapping tool that allows residents to submit feedback on specific parcels.