介绍： JUDY WOODRUFF: Cities across the country are struggling with a shortage of housing. But there are millions of spare bedrooms. As Stephanie Leydon from PBS station WGBH explains, Boston has become a launching pad for a new technology that connects people looking for affordable rent with homeowners who have spa...

介绍： JUDY WOODRUFF: Cities across the country are struggling with a shortage of housing. But there are millions of spare bedrooms. As Stephanie Leydon from PBS station WGBH explains, Boston has become a launching pad for a new technology that connects people looking for affordable rent with homeowners who have space to spare.

STEPHANIE LEYDON: Before she started her graduate program in public health, Abby Herbst got a crash course in math. There are too few apartments for too many people in Boston.

ABBY HERBST, Graduate Student: I called actually a real estate agent. And they wouldn't take me as a client, basically, I didn't have the budget for a regular place. And I was looking farther and farther outside the city.

STEPHANIE LEYDON: But she found a place just a 20-minute walk from campus in this townhouse complete with a furnished bedroom, fully equipped kitchen, and the homeowner, Brenda Atchison.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：全国各地的许多城市都饱受住房短缺之苦。但其实还有很多房子都处于空置状态。根据美国公众电台PBS记者斯蒂芬妮·莱登发回的报道，波士顿新兴了一种新技术，这种技术可以联结有预期房价的买家和有闲置房屋的房东。

斯蒂芬妮·莱登：在着手公共健康方面的研究所课程之前，艾比·赫布斯特上了数学方面的速成课。波士顿的人口太多，但住房数量却跟不上。

艾比·赫布斯特，研究生：其实，我给一个房产中介打过电话。但他们不愿意接我这个客户，主要是因为我没有预算，连普通的价格都付不起。所以我的预期地点就一点一点往外挪，直到挪到了城外。

斯蒂芬妮·莱登：但她还是找到了一个住处，离市政厅的校园只有20分钟的路程。这个房子卧室配有家具，厨房用具完备。房东名叫布伦达·艾奇逊。