Building affordable housing isn't just about putting a roof over someone's head. It's about creating healthy communities. In our latest episode of YIMBY Nation, Kevin Taylor, Executive Director of NEST, shares why successful developments go far beyond housing. They create opportunities for better health, stronger schools, jobs, homeownership, and long-term community stability.

In this episode, we dive deep into the challenges and opportunities of housing reform with our special guest, Burhan Azeem, Cambridge City Councillor. From tackling the housing crisis and improving affordability to exploring sustainable urban development, this episode explores how local policies can create fairer, more livable communities.

Join Vee, Jimmy, Peter and Burhan as we discuss the realities of housing policy, the importance of innovation in urban planning, and what meaningful reform could look like for cities like Cambridge and beyond.

Burhan Azeem is serving his second term on the Cambridge City Council as the youngest councillor in the City's history. A graduate of MIT, Burhan’s primary focuses are on housing affordability, street safety, and universal pre-K.

In his first term as councillor, Burhan expanded zoning for 100% affordable housing projects, successfully removed costly parking minimums that limited housing development, and played a key role in establishing universal pre-K for all Cambridge residents.

Now serving as co-chair of the Housing Committee, Burhan is focused on expanding housing in Cambridge. His main initiative centers on legalizing multifamily housing up to six stories throughout the city, ensuring that Cambridge remains an affordable and accessible place to live for all its residents. Burhan is also a strong supporter of the Grand Junction passenger rail and municipal broadband.

Bio from Cambridge City Council https://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/citycouncil/members/burhanazeem

Housing is more than just shelter—it's a reflection of our values, policies, and priorities. In this episode, we dive into the intersection of racial justice, climate change, and housing equity. From discriminatory housing practices to the growing threat of climate displacement, we unpack how systemic challenges are shaping where and how people live today. In today's episode, we're excited to have guest Pete Harrison from the Regional Plan Association.

Pete Harrison joined Regional Plan Association in February 2022 as the DesegregateCT Director, leading a statewide program to enact equitable and sustainable land use policies in Connecticut. In 2024 he became RPA’s director of Connecticut programs. Pete previously served for a year as Senior Policy Fellow for DesegregateCT crafting the 80-member coalition’s policy briefs, communications strategy, and local organizing campaigns and helped pass the first statewide zoning reform bill in over 30 years.

Prior to joining DesegregateCT, Pete worked on the intersection of housing, climate, and land use policy as a research scholar for the Buell Center of Architecture at Columbia University. He co-authored a portion of the textbook Green Reconstruction: A Curricular Toolkit for the Built Environment laying out a framework for graduate-level planning, architecture, and preservation programs to center equity and sustainability in their practices. Before that he was the senior national housing advisor for the progressive think tank, Data for Progress, where he co-authored briefs and articles on federal housing and land use policy including the Homes for All report. He also advised on the presidential campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and former HUD Secretary Julian Castro.

Biography from RPA

https://rpa.org/about/staff/pete-harrison