The Massachusetts School Centered Neighborhood Development Playbook

Ben Forman, Andrew Bundy and Gracie Theobald-Williams

Neighborhood vitality and public school performance are closely linked, yet education improvement efforts are generally siloed from planning, housing, and community development. This disconnect has contributed to increasingly high levels read more

Topic(s): Education, Economic Development, Research, Housing

Massachusetts Needs an Actionable Strategy to Expand ESOL Services

MassINC

Adults with limited English skills comprise one-tenth of the commonwealth’s workforce. This makes English for Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) services key to the Massachusetts economy. While the field is read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Research

District Management for Downtown Vitality

Ingredients and Recipes for Success

Ben Forman, Andre Leroux and Elise Rapoza

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 read more

Topic(s): Economic Development, Gateway Cities, Transformative Transit-Oriented Development

Community Capital for Small Businesses

A Study of the CDFI and CDC Ecosystem in Massachusetts

Matt Brewster, Meaghan Phillips and Elise Rapoza

Prepared in partnership with P2 Advisors, this new study explores small business lending services provided by federally certified Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) and state certified Community Development Corporations (CDCs). read more

Topic(s): Economic Development, Gateway Cities, Transformative Transit-Oriented Development

Accelerating Inclusive Growth in the Pioneer Valley

A Prospectus for Transformative Economic Investment

Ben Forman and Dan Hodge

Accelerating Inclusive Growth in the Pioneer Valley is an economic development prospectus for western Massachusetts. Prepared in partnership with Cambridge Econometrics, the analysis calls attention to the region’s competitive advantages read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Economic Development, Gateway Cities

Housing for All

Forward-Looking Strategies for a Growing New Bedford

Ben Forman, Saynab Maalin and Elise Rapoza

This report exposes the impact of the statewide housing shortage on Gateway Cities with an in-depth examination of New Bedford’s residential market. Produced in partnership with the Regeneration Project, the read more

Topic(s): Gateway Cities, Research, Housing

Criminal Justice Reform in Massachusetts

A Five-Year Progress Assessment

Ben Forman, Elise Rapoza, Peter Ciurczak and Luc Schuster

Produced in partnership with Boston Indicators, this report is the first systematic look at the impact of two landmark criminal justice reform laws passed in 2018. While the COVID-19 pandemic read more

Topic(s): Criminal Justice

Connected Communities

Providing Affordable Housing Residents with Unfettered Access to Digital Opportunity in Massachusetts

Ben Forman

Connected Communities explores strategies to close the digital divide in Massachusetts through targeted investments in affordable housing developments. Prepared in collaboration with the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP), the report builds read more

Topic(s): Education, Housing

Tapping the Power of Health Pathways in Early College High Schools

Ben Forman and Simone Ngongi-Lukula

In a complementary discussion paper, we suggest Massachusetts can meet a growing need for skilled workers by weaving more robust career pathways into Early College programs. To demonstrate what this read more

Topic(s): Education, Jobs and Economic Security

Early College as a Scalable Solution to the Looming Workforce Crisis