Housing was identified as a key cross-cutting theme during the development of the 2019 Berkshire Blueprint 2.0, including the availability of quality, affordable, and proximal housing for those seeking to work in the breadth of industry clusters driving the region’s economy.

In response, in 2020 the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and 1Berkshire convened a working group of housing practitioners from across the region to assist in identifying critical housing issues and potential strategies for addressing them, and to recommend near-term actions which can be taken to begin addressing these issues.

Ensuring that all residents of the region have access to safe, affordable and accessible housing is a goal shared by all. Achieving this goal is complex. As a result, the work summarized in this document should be viewed as a call to action and a starting point for many more in depth conversations across the region, with a diverse range of groups, to build a broader understanding of specific housing challenges and needs and to more clearly define specific actions which will move us towards our vision.