Calling all Gateway City Leaders

An action Guide to Workforce Development Transformation in Massachusetts

In Gateway City regions with an aging and under-skilled labor force, workforce development is an essential ingredient for future economic growth. This new “action guide” provides a helpful playbook for local leaders looking to engage in efforts to transform these systems. In plain English, the report breaks down workforce development to give municipal leaders a read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Strong Communities, Economic Development, Gateway Cities, Research

Going for Growth

Promoting Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Massachusetts Gateway Cities

Ben Forman and Sandra Larson

This policy brief explores opportunities to leverage the energy immigrant-owned businesses bring to Gateway Cities as an economic development strategy. Immigrant-owned shops are already revitalizing downtowns in Gateway Cities across the state. These small storefront businesses could become launching pads to larger enterprises, providing an even greater contribution to local and regional economic development. But read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Strong Communities, Economic Development, Gateway Cities

Transformative Redevelopment

Strategic State Policy for Gateway City Growth and Renewal

Alan Mallach, Ben Forman and Margaret Keaveny

Transformative redevelopment describes public and private financial support for projects that catalyze significant follow-on private investment, leading over time to the transformation of an entire downtown or urban neighborhood. This approach seeks to repair weak real estate markets where development costs outweigh returns, creating a gap that impedes the flow of private investment; it contrasts read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Strong Communities, Economic Development, Gateway Cities

Recapturing the American Dream

Meeting the Challenges of the Bay State's Lost Decade

Andy Sum, Mykhaylo Trub'skyy, Ishwar Khatiwada, Sheila Palma and Joseph McLaughlin

This joint project with the Center for Labor Market Studies was made possible by the generous support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Partners Health Care. More so than any previous report, this research sheds light on the economic well-being of workers at a moment when public attention is hyper-focused on policymaking to read more

Topic(s): Education, Jobs and Economic Security, Economic Development

MassINC’s Middle Class Index

Ben Forman, Steve Koczela, Caroline Koch and Robert David Sullivan

The first-of-its-kind Middle Class Index is designed to serve as a barometer of the status of middle class residents. Composed of 26 different indicators, the overall score for Massachusetts in 2010 was 97.4, down 2.6 points from the benchmark figure of 100 for the year 2000. Nationally, the index number was 94.2. The index number read more

Topic(s): Education, Jobs and Economic Security, Economic Development, Government Accountability

Going for Growth

Promoting Access to Wealth Building Financial Services in Massachusetts Gateway Cities

Ben Forman

This paper examines the market for personal financial services and finds that many Gateway City residents do not have bank accounts, which leaves them dependent on high-cost services like check cashers. Without bank accounts, families have difficulty developing the credit history needed to qualify for low-interest loans. They turn instead to pawnshops, rent-to-own stores, and read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Gateway Cities

Planning for College

A Consumer Approach to the Higher Education Marketplace

C. Anthony Broh

The place of college in the lives of current and future generations of American families has fundamentally changed. Once the privilege of a few, college is now a virtual prerequisite for joining and remaining in the ranks of the middle class. This economic reality means more students continue their education beyond high school each year. read more

Topic(s): Education, Jobs and Economic Security, Strong Communities

Going for Growth

Promoting Residential Reinvestment in Massachusetts Gateway Cities

Benjamin Forman

Promoting Residential Reinvestment in Massachusetts Gateway Cities, the second brief in a series exploring evidence-based policy innovations to spur reinvestment and renewal in the state’s key regional cities. This paper examines state housing spending over the last 15 years and finds that programs designed primarily to increase affordability in strong markets have not been able read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Economic Development, Gateway Cities

Building for the Future

Foundations for a Springfield Comprehensive Growth Strategy

Ben Forman, John Schneider, Ed Lambert and Jason Silva

Springfield has enormous assets, but like other midsize cities throughout the Northeast and Midwest, it struggles to get past decades of disinvestment brought on by manufacturing decline and residential disinvestment. To rebuild and reposition for the knowledge economy, communities like Springfield need long-term strategies – plans that address challenges and leverage opportunities by channeling resources read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Strong Communities, Economic Development, Gateway Cities