Cities are shaped by their citizens. From New Bedford to Pittsfield, passionate young leaders are spearheading innovative efforts to reinvent their communities for a new generation. The Gateway Cities Leaders series profiles their work and introduces their ideas, visions, and aspirations to the wider Gateway City world. Is there a young leader in your city
The Gateway Cities Journal
Finding "leadership" on transportation to sustain economic growth
“Raising MBTA fares is not leadership” read the provocative title of an op-ed by Boston City Council President Michelle Wu and Newton Mayor Setti Warren published in The Boston Globe this week. Wu and Warren make some great points about the importance of the T and the negative impacts that raising fares would have, both on
Reducing Youth Recidivism Isn’t Rocket Science, It’s Brain Science
This past Tuesday MassINC convened leading criminal justice experts and policy makers at the State House for a conversation on our new report examining strategies to reduce recidivism by responding to the developmental needs of justice-involved young adults. The new MassINC research finds residents ages 18 to 24 are the most likely demographic to find
Week 5: E-Over-P
Despite the wall-to-wall coverage, one fact about the early primary states you probably didn’t pick up is that they’ve both got nice looking employment-to-population ratios. The E/P ratio measures the proportion of the state’s working-age population (ages 16 to 64) that is employed. Since the Great Recession, economists have been tracking this measure closely because
Week 4: The Geography of Growth
In recent weeks, we’ve looked at the remarkable pace of job growth in Massachusetts and noted that this encouraging job creation performance came without gains in labor productivity or real wages. Now we add more nuance to the story with a series of maps indicating where jobs were added by industry. The first map shows
Ben Forman Op-Ed: With prison reform, Mass. must take steps to reduce recidivism rates
The MassCJRC Journal
IN THE STATES The Young Lawyers Division of the New Jersey State bar Association is helping resolve outstanding legal issues for former prisoners. A veto override gives even more former felons in Maryland the right to vote. (Baltimore Sun) A bill is approved by the Wyoming Senate Judiciary Committee which, if passed, would grant
Reducing recidivism
Criminal justice reform leaders from Massachusetts gather to examine strategies
Last week, MassINC gathered at The Boston Foundation with criminal justice reform leaders from Massachusetts and beyond to examine strategies to reduce recidivism. The public forum coincided with the release of new MassINC research estimating that repeat offenders make up more than two-thirds of defendants committed to state and county prisons in Massachusetts each year.
Week 3: Growth without growth
Last week we looked at the impressive job creation performance of the Massachusetts economy during the first half of the 2010s. Relatively to past decades, even the celebrated 1980s, we’ve been humming along producing jobs at record levels. This week we contrast job growth with output growth. Because comparable data are only available through 2014,
The Gateway Cities Journal
Providing opportunities for all
Governor Baker introduced a major economic development package last week. Reading the tea leaves, one conclusion can be drawn for sure: the administration is serious about empowering its leaders to put forward bold ideas. Line by line, the legislation reflects the energy and insight for which Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash is
Andy Vargas
This week’s Gateway Cities Leader
Cities are shaped by their citizens. From New Bedford to Pittsfield, passionate young leaders are spearheading innovative efforts to reinvent their communities for a new generation. The Gateway Cities Leaders series profiles their work and introduces their ideas, visions, and aspirations to the wider Gateway City world. Is there a young leader in your city that