The mission of the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, Inc. (POUA) is to serve as a catalyst for social justice through its work in housing development, neighborhood revitalization and affordable housing advocacy. In partnership with local municipalities and business leaders, POUA works to address the significant need for affordable rental and homeownership opportunities in the region by creating culturally, economically and socially diverse residential communities where people of modest means can live and prosper. POUA is also committed to advancing the public dialogue about the importance to both individuals, and to the economic and social health of the Commonwealth and the Country, of creating high quality affordable housing for all residents. As a result, POUA is actively engaged in promoting public policies, legislation and regulations at the State and Federal level that support the development of affordable and mixed-income housing in Massachusetts and across the nation.
The Planning Office for Urban Affairs takes its directive from the U.S. Catholic Conference's Pastoral Letter, "The Right to a Decent Home," which calls the Catholic community to "act effectively to meet the needs of those who lack adequate housing, to reflect on our own responsibilities and opportunities for action and to seek to have a qualitative impact on the problem of housing in our society by attempting to change the system and the policies that result in housing deprivation.”