EPISODE 5 of GATEWAYS brings listeners to the Hampshire House in Boston for a special breakfast conversation with the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus. The theme for the morning was comprehensive neighborhood revitalization.
In the fall, MassINC partnered with the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations to convene a diverse group of housing, community development, education, and public health experts. Together, we crafted a policy blueprint to strengthen blighted neighborhoods.
Alan Mallach, Senior Fellow at the Center for Community Progress, was instrumental to this effort. He provided valuable analysis, expertise, and guidance and co-authored, Building Communities of Progress and Possibility, a report summarizing our findings and laying out a policy blueprint in response. Alan’s concise and insightful introductory remarks open the breakfast discussion.
Listeners then get a rich and textured understanding of the problem and potential solutions from a panel of Gateway City leaders. MACDC president Joe Kriesberg guides the conversation, which includes: Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera; Pittsfield’s Director of Community Development, Deanna Ruffer; Springfield’s housing director, Gerry McCafferty; and Marc Dohan, Executive Director of NewVue Communities, a CDC serving Fitchburg, Leominster, and Gardner.
Aimee caps the episode with brief interviews with Mayor Linda Tyer of Pittsfield and Joe Kriesberg.
2019 is going to be a big year for GATEWAYS. Keep listening! Subscribe on iTunes or SoundCloud to receive new episodes just as they are released.