The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute works to unlock the economic potential of small to mid-size regional cities.

Leveraging MassINC’s research, polling, and policy team, the Institute strengthens connections across communities and helps Gateway City leaders develop and advance a shared policy agenda.

Research Reports

Articles from The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute

Governor Healey’s budget invests in Gateway Cities

The Gateway Cities Journal

Our last journal offered thoughts on how Governor Healey can position Gateway Cities to thrive in this post-pandemic era by increasing the Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP), investing in regional transit, and lowering commuter rail fares. Now that the administration has unveiled its first budget, our readers will want to know, how did they do?

Gov. Healey can make a bold statement with HDIP, commuter rail fares, and RTA funding in FY24 budget

The Gateway Cities Journal

Governor Healey’s first budget will provide the opening look at the administration’s policy priorities. This glimpse comes at what is almost certainly a defining moment for Massachusetts. After a long string of success, the state’s economy faces serious peril, brought on by a potent combination of the COVID-19 shock, regulation inhibiting housing production, and systemic

Early College is a beacon for Gateway City progress

The Gateway Cities Journal

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

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

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

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

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

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

Press coverage

  • The Enterprise

    MassINC names leadership award after late Brockton mayor

    Nov 24, 2019

    BROCKTON – MassINC is honoring the memory of former Mayor Bill Carpenter with an annual award for leadership.

    Nonprofit think thank MassINC held its seventh annual Gateway City Innovation Awards last week, when the group unveiled a new category, named after Carpenter, who died on July 3 during his sixth year in office.

    The award is called the “Mayor Bill Carpenter Award for Excellence in Gateway City Leadership,” and each year in the future it will be awarded to an elected official “who seeks out new ideas and works collaboratively to advance them,” thus furthering the interest of their community but also inspiring other “gateway cities” in the process of innovation, according to MassINC. Gateway cities, like Brockton, are defined as mid-sized urban centers throughout the state that face stubborn, longtime economic challenges, often due to the loss of the manufacturing jobs from their industrial pasts.

    Carpenter was recognized for his support of transit-oriented development downtown, with several new apartment projects underway around the downtown Commuter Rail station, he was also widely known for gus approach to substance abuse problems in the community, unveiling “The Champions Plan” in 2016 as an option for people to seek treatment for addiction by presenting themselves at the police station.

    “Over the course of three terms, he earned acclaim near and far,” said MassINC, in a statement about the Carpenter award. “He was an indispensable partner to MassINC’s Gateway Cities Innovation Institute. We are proud to honor his spirit, intelligence, and sense of duty and hope that this new award will carry it forward by inspiring future leaders.”

    Read More…

  • MassLive

    How transit-oriented development can help transform struggling urban cores in Massachusetts’ gateway cities

    Nov 20, 2019

    Across Massachusetts, gateway cities like Worcester, Lawrence and Lowell are struggling to deal with a lack of investment over the last three decades.

    As experts study how to revitalize these midsize urban cores, one strategy has emerged as a frontrunner — transformative transit-oriented development. Centering on future development in inclusive urban areas, this solution focuses on providing electrified high-frequency regional rail service and better integrating the state’s many regional economies to give residents better access to jobs and other services.

    “Today, Americans are realizing first-hand that not only are their housing costs a determinate of their success in life, but also their transportation costs,” Christopher Coes, vice president of Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Smart Growth America, told attendees at the 7th Annual Gateway Cities Innovation Awards and Summit in Worcester on Wednesday.

    Read More…

  • Worcester Telegram and Gazette

    Transit touted as key to growth for Gateway cities like Worcester

    Nov 20, 2019

    WORCESTER — Worcester and other Gateway Cities should embrace the opportunity to grow by increasing mobility and stimulating reinvestment with transit-oriented development.

    That was the message of the 7th Annual Gateway Cities Innovation Institute Awards and Summit held at the DCU Center on Wednesday. The theme of the event was “Catalyzing Transformative Transit-Oriented Development.”

    Keynote speaker Christopher Coes, vice president of land use and development at Smart Growth America, urged several hundred attendees to envision a country in which no matter where or who you are, you can live in a place that’s “healthy, prosperous and resilient.”

    Mr. Coes noted that transportation is the second largest expense for U.S. households, with the average household spending 47 percent of its income on housing and transportation. Later, he mentioned that no Massachusetts resident should be spending more than 41 percent on those two expenses.

    He spoke in favor of compact, mixed-used development with multimodal access to jobs and neighborhood services. He said such a model reduces spending, relieves congestion, connects people to better jobs, lessens environmental impact and stimulates economic growth.

    Read More…

  • The Lowell Sun

    Re-examining gas tax could provide funding for upgrading commuter-rail system

    Oct 1, 2019

    The majority of Massachusetts residents apparently are all for dramatically improving the state’s commuter-rail system.

    As long as it’s not on their dime.

    That’s essentially the conclusion of a MassINC survey of 1,430 Bay State residents published last week.

    Respondents overwhelming supported several ambitious projects, including the North-South Rail Link, the South Coast Rail project, and extending commuter —  rail service west to Springfield and Pittsfield.

    In addition to these infrastructure improvements, nearly 85% of those surveyed want a wholesale overhaul of the rail’s delivery system, which would entail replacing the existing diesel fleet with electric-powered trains.

    Read More…

  • WBUR

    Mass. Residents Want More Commuter Rail Service And Lower Fares, Poll Finds

    Sep 26, 2019

    Massachusetts residents want a lot more commuter rail service, including more frequent trains and expanded service throughout the state, according to a new MassINC poll (topline results, crosstabs).

    The poll found 76% of residents support moving the commuter rail toward a “regional rail” system. In this type of system, there would be trains every 15 to 30 minutes, day and night and on weekends, so people could use the commuter rail for more than just riding to and from work.

    More than two-thirds of residents also want the commuter rail extended to western Massachusetts, the South Coast — including Fall River and New Bedford — and to southern New Hampshire. And 81% of poll respondents want the long-discussed North-South rail link, which would connect North and South stations in Boston.

    “Residents think that the rail system in Massachusetts as it’s currently constructed could do more and that there’s space for rail to go to more places than it does now,” said Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group.

    Read More…

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Explore research reports

  • MassINC is a key partner to the Boston Foundation, and all of us who are seeking to advance the regional conversation around economic opportunity and a strong quality of life for all.  MassINC's robust, nonpartisan research is exactly what our citizens and leaders need to make good decisions.

    Paul Grogan, Former President of The Boston Foundation

  • I watch my inbox for CommonWealth magazine’s Daily Download. I can count on the newsletter to tell me succinctly what’s happening in politics and public policy. The magazine itself always delivers in-depth news, analysis and commentary. It's simply outstanding, quality journalism. I am happy to support unbiased reporting through my participation in Citizens Circle.

    Helen Chin Schlichte Former Public Administrator; President Emeritus, South Cove Manor at Quincy Point

  • MassINC's long-term dedication to Gateway Cities makes them a valuable resource to all of our communities. They are a true thought partner. They go the distance to help others appreciate our unique opportunities, needs, and perspectives.

    Tim McGourthy Chief Financial Officer, City of Worcester

  • MassINC serves as a credible, thoughtful resource for all of us who are invested in the future of the Commonwealth. Its emphasis on careful analysis that is grounded in data, research, and polling makes an important contribution to and helps elevate the conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing the region.

    Trevor Pollack, Manager of Special Projects for the Barr Foundation

  • The potential of Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities is limitless. MassINC’s dedicated work in promoting these cities has been, and will continue to be, instrumental in their individual and collective success.

    Jay Ash
    Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development and former chair of the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute

  • MassINC has always provided research showing the detrimental impact of the state’s unforgiving criminal justice system on our communities. Their polling confirmed that the public understood the need for change in our system. That criminal justice reform is at the forefront of bipartisan local and national debates today is in no small measure due to MassINC’s persistent and fair commitment to the issue.

    Juliette Kayyem Faculty Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Founder Kayyem Solutions LLC

  • Through my partnership with MassINC, the Building On What Works Coalition is working to unite a diverse collection of civic leaders around an urgent call to encourage the state to act on the progress that has been made ensuring all children in Massachusetts have a true chance to succeed in the state’s economy. MassINC’s research and commitment to data driven public policy are helping to give the children of Massachusetts a better education.

    Kim Driscoll Mayor of Salem

  • MassINC's work with the Gateway Cities is unmatched. As Eastern Bank strives to help businesses in these communities thrive, MassINC has been a tremendous partner, providing data-driven research and affirming that these cities are full of opportunities.

    Bob Rivers Chairman and CEO of Eastern Bank

  • When MassINC speaks, it’s well worth listening. After all, the nonpartisan think tank has established itself as a thoughtful, careful, credible voice on public policy in Massachusetts.

    Scot Lehigh Boston Globe Op-Ed Columnist

  • Few organizations in the country have better understood the important role of governance reform and accountability in education policy and economic development than MassINC.

    Bruce Katz Former Vice President and Founding Director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at The Brookings Institution

  • [MassINC's] understanding of the complexity of the challenges facing the state’s older cities, its belief in the opportunities that present themselves in those communities, and its advocacy of the role that public higher education can and should play in them, has added to the understanding that policy makers need to have as they move our state toward the future.

    Jean MacCormack

Why support massinc?

  • Reason #7

    We enjoy what we do.

    Whether it’s planning events, conducting research, or analyzing the news, our team works on projects that we’re passionate about.
  • Reason #6

    We develop leaders.

    Former MassINC employees have gone on to work at reputable organizations like Harvard University, Boston University, City Year, EnerNOC, and Governor Baker’s office.  
  • Reason #5

    We stick with it.

    Our work on transformative development, which uses public and private funding for projects to revitalize an entire downtown or urban neighbor­hood, began as Policy Center research report in 2013. A year later, the state legislature passed a bill funding transformative development projects across Massachusetts.
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    Our Board of Directors includes prominent Massachusetts Democrats and Republicans. We are interested people’s ideas, not which side of the aisle they sit on.
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