A survey of residents in Boston's western suburbs picked up "mixed signals" on the issue of affordable housing, reported The Boston Globe. Nearly four out of five residents polled by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute said they would support developing more affordable housing in their communities. Nearly eight out of 10 said that 10 percent of each community's housing stock should be affordable.

However, slightly more than half the survey respondents said affordable housing could depress their property values, and more than a third said it would generate more crime in their neighborhoods, the article said. According to the executive director of the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, which commissioned the study, the responses reflect broad support for affordable housing tempered by negative myths that need dispelling. The survey is posted on CHAPA's website .