Work-Live Artist Housing Guidelines for the City of Boston

These guidelines are intended to help artist housing stakeholders understand the dynamics and expectations of artist work-live space: how to create it, maintain it, and support it.

Maybe you are a developer with an inclusionary housing requirement or an interest in developing a new building specifically geared to artist housing. Perhaps you’re an owner of an existing building with artists in it, and you want to sell your building and keep the artists there. You might have a parcel or property in an industrial zone and are eager to redevelop it for an allowable use. Maybe you are an artist or artist community who wants to purchase or stabilize the building you live or work in. Or you might be a design or architecture studio working on artist housing for the first time. You could be a city department who wants to integrate artists into the planning process, or guide development in a way that is efficient, effective, and supportive for creative communities overall.

These guidelines are a starting point. They’re not a substitute for including artists and neighbors in the design process. Consider these guidelines a journey map for developing awesome creative places for artists to work and live together.