Andre Leroux Director, Gateway Hubs Project, MassINC

André is an independent consultant who directs MassINC’s Gateway Hubs Project. A native of Worcester, he has extensive experience living and working in older industrial cities in Massachusetts. He led the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance as executive director from 2007-2020, successfully championing zoning reform and other policies to support walkable, affordable, vibrant, and diverse communities. While there, he helped establish the Great Neighborhoods program, the Planners of Color Network, Abundant Housing Mass, and Transportation for Massachusetts.

Prior experience includes time at Lawrence CommunityWorks, where he led an award-winning revitalization effort, the Massachusetts state legislature in the Office of the Senate President, and Harvard University at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. He serves on the board of Smart Growth America and chairs the planning board for the City of Medford. André studied at Dartmouth College and El Colegio de México in Mexico City, is fluent in Spanish, and is a member of the LGBTQ community.

ARTICLES By Andre Leroux

District Management for Downtown Vitality

Ingredients and Recipes for Success

Commercial districts need a high volume of foot traffic to support thriving small businesses. Supplemental district management services can dramatically increase this pedestrian activity. In recent years, there has been widespread interest in forming district management organizations (DMOs) to provide these services in all types of communities throughout the commonwealth. By unpacking the toolset Massachusetts

Andre Leroux offers testimony to Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies

On H.4459– An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership

May 7, 2024 Representative Jerry Parisella, Co-Chair Senator Barry Finegold, Co-Chair Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies 24 Beacon Street Boston, MA, 02133 Re: H.4459– An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership Dear Chairs Parisella and Finegold, and members of the Committee, On behalf of MassINC’s Gateway Cities Innovation Institute and our

Recommendations to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities on the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP)

MassINC has developed draft recommendations to the new Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities that would improve management of the program. These have been crafted in consultation with municipal housing and economic development staff from Gateway Cities across the state. We look forward to discussing these ideas with EOHLC Secretary Ed Augustus and his

A Gateway Cities Strategy for the Healey–Driscoll Administration

Transition Briefing Memorandum

Governor Healey takes office at a pivotal moment. State government must deploy a deluge of federal resources from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The mandate to leverage this unprecedented investment to combat the commonwealth’s two most existential threats—climate change and rising inequality—has never

Social Infrastructure: Towards More Walkable, Resilient, and Inclusive Gateway Cities

This report looks at how the built environment supports social interaction and the formation of social capital. We measure the “social infrastructure” provided by active streetscapes, ground-floor establishments, civic spaces and institutions, and public transportation in five Gateway City downtowns. Our analysis draws on information collected from walk audits, which were conducted in partnership with
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