As we embark on this new year and new legislative session, we mark an important anniversary: 10 years ago Mayors Kim Driscoll and Lisa Wong brought Gateway City leaders together to craft the Gateway Cities Vision for Dynamic Community-Wide Learning Systems. From expanding access to early education to building comprehensive student support systems, the shared blueprint
Gateway Cities look to the corner office for leadership on school integration
The Gateway Cities Journal
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On the campaign trail, Governor-elect Healey did not articulate clear strategies for closing stark educational disparities in Massachusetts. Her appointments and statements in the coming weeks will be closely watched for clues on how she will approach these challenging issues. A strong first step would be to depart from her predecessors by acknowledging that increasing
Tis’ the season for social infrastructure
The Gateway Cities Journal
A few days after MassINC unveiled a new report on the crucial role of social infrastructure for urban vitality and resilience, Groundwork Lawrence brought the concept to life at its annual Glow Gala. The event took place in Youth Development Organization’s new space at Everett Mills. The historic building spans four blocks along the edge of downtown Lawrence.
Helping a Gateway City gain admittance to the clean energy pilot
The Gateway Cities Journal
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Gateway Cities are home to one out of four Massachusetts residents. In a future where we conserve land and reduce congestion with infill housing, they should be home to an even larger share of our population. Given this residential density, there is simply no way that Massachusetts meets its climate commitments without Gateway Cities in
Mass Broadband poised to help Gateway Cities win the future
The Gateway Cities Journal
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The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) issued a much-anticipated RFP for the Digital Equity Partnership Program last week. Drawing on resources from the state’s new Digital Equity Fund, the program will support a number of key strategies to close the digital divide, including: Digital literacy training programs to help residents build skills to use digital technologies;
Bravo to Lesser and Driscoll!
The Gateway Cities Journal
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For the Gateway Cities movement, the race for Lt. Governor was by far the most notable among Tuesday’s primaries. While many believe the position has little import, the LG’s office has established itself as a meaningful envoy to Gateway Cities across the state in recent years. Both Lt. Gov. Murray and Lt. Gov. Polito spent
The Baker Administration’s Crowning Achievement
The Gateway Cities Journal
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Leaders on Beacon Hill continue to look for solutions to the stalled economic development package. Embedding the bill’s provision in a supplemental budget, which Governor Baker would take the lead in drafting, is one scenario floating around the State House. This approach has one major downside: supplemental budgets cannot contain bond authorizations. If this is
For the Good of the Commonwealth
The Gateway Cities Journal
Gateway City leaders awoke Monday morning to incredibly disheartening news: The legislature had failed to pass the economic development bill and its long-awaited increase in the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP). Session after session, the omnibus economic development bill has been the primary vehicle for economic policy in Massachusetts. Many interests are now waiting patiently
House and Senate move on HDIP, Lesser fighting for inclusive entrepreneurship provisions
The Gateway Cities Journal
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On Monday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee released its version of the biennial economic development bill. Similar to the bill passed unanimously by the House last week, S. 3018 contains provisions increasing the annual cap on the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) to $57 million for FY 2023 and $30 million each year thereafter.
50 Gateway City economic development leaders write to state legislators for HDIP
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50 Gateway City economic development leaders and developers sent a letter to state legislators calling for action to rescue the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP), which is the only state program to address the unique development challenges of our small cities. Most significantly, rents remain comparatively low in most Gateway Cities compared to rising construction