Episode 45: Sam Ghilardi (Housing for All Watertown / Sai Life Sciences)

Meet Sam Ghilardi! He's a senior scientist at Sai Life Sciences, a member of the steering committee for Housing for All Watertown, and a board member for CoLAB, all here in Watertown. We chat about his early experiences with science and studying cell communication (basically our skin cells are like toddlers), what it's like working in the life science sector in Watertown, how he got involved with housing advocacy work, and the recent changes to Watertown zoning that he's excited about along with other forward-facing thoughts on the topic.

Check out Housing for All Watertown: housingforallwatertown.org

HAW Event, 2/23, 2pm: What will it take to build 100% affordable housing in Watertown?

Other local resources Sam wanted to share on housing:

The Boston Foundation’s Greater Boston Housing report card. This report published by the Boston Foundation is an annual review of the Greater Boston Housing market, highlighting trends like affordability, rental vacancy rates, housing production. Every year has a special section with a featured topic, and this year the topic is opportunities for housing on unused public land not marked for conservation. 

How to Increase Housing Affordability: Understanding Local Deterrents to Building Multifamily Housing is a report from the Boston Branch of the Federal Reserve. It is a more technical study that looks at local deterrents, including zoning and special permit processes, that block the construction of housing.