Benjamin Forman is MassINC’s research director. He coordinates the development of the organization’s research agenda and oversees production of research reports. Ben has authored a number of MassINC publications and he speaks frequently to organizations and media across Massachusetts. With a background in urban revitalization and sustainable growth and development, he is uniquely suited to the organization’s focus on strong communities and economic security.
Prior to joining MassINC in 2008, Ben oversaw strategic planning for the District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation, a large agency providing critical services to youth and families in neighborhoods throughout the city. He also worked as a research assistant at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program in Washington, DC and Nathan Associates, a global economic development consulting firm.
As a graduate student, Ben was awarded a Rappaport Public Policy Fellowship and served in the City of New Bedford’s planning department. He also worked as a graduate research assistant on a multi-year longitudinal analysis measuring the impact of new information technologies on neighborhood social networks.
Ben graduated from Trinity College, Hartford in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. In 2004, he completed his master’s degree in city planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He lives in Boston with his wife Anne and two daughters, Eloise and Cecily.
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Will Recent Homebuying Trends Intensify Racial Wealth Gaps?
Data show Black and Latino residents increasingly purchasing in unstable Gateway City neighborhoods
September 28, 2020
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New economic development legislation is a boon for Gateway Cities
Without intervention and a new funding stream, the coronavirus crisis will further destabilize vulnerable Gateway City neighborhoods.
July 10, 2020
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With prison populations halved, it’s time for a reinvestment strategy
All told, state and county correctional agencies maintain a complex of nearly 500 buildings with approximately 10 million square feet among them.
June 24, 2020
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From Transactional to Transformative
The Case for Equity in Gateway City Transit-Oriented Development
May 18, 2020
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Gateway Cities at the center of the digital divide in Massachusetts
The deep digital divide in Massachusetts is one of many glaring inequities brought into focus by the pandemic. Before schools were hastily forced into remote learning mode, the problem was largely perceived as rural.
May 5, 2020
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Why Gateway Cities Could Be Headed for a Fiscal Emergency
While the state has given municipalities more latitude to adopt local option taxes in recent years, and Gateway Cities jumped at the opportunity, these remain rather anemic funding streams.
April 24, 2020
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