Whatever you think about the current federal administration, there’s no doubt that they’re pursuing their agenda with an unprecedented level of ambition, novelty, and devil-may-care attitude. In confronting this federal upheaval , Massachusetts may find a lesson to learn.
Our state, liberal in many ways, has long been conservative in its approach. We tend to be process-heavy, slow and methodological, incremental in our progress. At the State House, the search for consensus can lend itself to “small ball” and a pace that may feel at times like stagnation to the general public.
There’s no reason that we shouldn’t plant our flag on behalf of bold ideas—ones that build our commonwealth and not take it apart. In the war over good governance and the future of our civil society, our state needs to show that we can get things done with creativity and spirit.
Growing Gateways Are Good for Massachusetts
Over the last three years, I’ve had the privilege of working with municipal and local economic development leaders from around the state. I’ve heard how difficult it can be to move even one project forward amid dozens of properties crying out for renovation or development.
Gateway City developers and municipal leaders contend with old buildings, limited parking, high labor and construction costs, 100-year-old infrastructure, and regulatory spaghetti. At the same time, we ask them to clean up the environment, be net-zero energy, create local jobs, and provide affordable residential and commercial space. The numbers don’t work for traditional banks, let alone equity and institutional investors.
Meanwhile, trillions of dollars of private sector investment continue to migrate to relatively cheap and easy development in places with less friction and higher rates of return.
Regardless of whether any individual project satisfies everyone’s ideals, the fact is that Massachusetts as a whole will become more equitable, climate-resilient, and affordable if Gateway Cities grow at a faster pace than the rest of the state. Rather than one hub centered on Boston/Cambridge, we could have many thriving cities providing great places to live, work, and play, pumping energy into regional economies throughout the state.
Without more private investment, too many Gateway neighborhoods will continue to experience a status quo of economic and racial segregation, few job opportunities, cutthroat competition for affordable housing units, economic deserts, and low-quality schools and transportation.
Ironically, some progressive organizations advocate for this status quo, fearing that private investment will displace residents. But this is an error focusing on the crumbs we have, not the meal we could obtain. We do not have to be satisfied with communities that offer limited amenities and social mobility. We can have diverse, welcoming, and prosperous urban areas across the state.
Our small and medium-sized cities provide the best opportunity to build many more walkable, mixed-income, and thriving neighborhoods at once. Rather than hemorrhaging our young people to the South and West, they could find a high quality of life and sense of belonging in our own state.
Based on the challenges and solutions that we’ve heard from communities, here are five big economic development ideas for Gateway Cities that could help realize this vision.
- “All Hands” for Housing Financing: Go big with the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) and leverage new types of real estate financing to jolt housing production.
- A Flagship Downtown Program: Massachusetts needs an integrated downtown strategy with a clear, state-level vision and a consistent funding source.
- Level the Playing Field: Make it easier to develop in our cities than in our forests and farmland.
- Regional Innovation Campuses: When companies are ready to grow, we want them to stay in Massachusetts, and we want as many as possible to locate in Gateway Cities.
- Energy Abundance: Gateway Cities need access to ample, predictable sources of energy, and they need a greater ability to plan and allocate it.
Read more about these ideas, along with a two-pager of long-term and short-term goals here.