Looking for Leadership

Public Opinion in Massachusetts on the Response to Global Warming

Massachusetts residents “strongly support” a wide range of policies to combat and prepare for global warming, including investing in renewable energy and public transit. This support stems from broad belief that the effects of global warming are either already underway, or have already begun, and will be damaging for Massachusetts – three-quarters think Massachusetts will read more

Topic(s): Environment, Public Opinion

Crime, Cost & Consequences

A Two Year Progress Report

Ben Forman and John Larivee

In 2013, MassINC issued Crime, Cost, and Consequences, a comprehensive look at the performance of the state’s criminal justice system. At the Second Annual Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Summit, we issued this update. These new figures show steady progress in some areas, while other problems identified in the 2013 report continue to present stubborn read more

Topic(s): Criminal Justice, Research

At the Apex

The 2030 Educational Attainment Forecast and Implications for Bay State Policy Makers

Mark Melnik, Lindsay Koshgarian, Dan Hodge, Hinlan Wong and Ryan Wallace

This analysis draws attention to the problem the Massachusetts economy will confront as the large and highly skilled Baby Boom generation ages out of the state’s workforce. To help inform policymakers at this critical juncture, the report examines the drivers of recent gains in educational attainment and projects skill levels in Massachusetts out to 2030. read more

Topic(s): Education

Going for Growth

Enhancing the Economic Impact of Public Transit in Gateway Cities with Comprehensive Service Planning

Ben Forman, Megan Aki, Mary Ebeling and Rich Parr

This new policy brief examines how best practices in transit planning can benefit Massachusetts’s Regional Transit Authorities. Massachusetts’s Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) have an opportunity to improve their existing service and make the case for more funding from the state by making the most of a new planning requirement from the legislature. That’s the key read more

Topic(s): Strong Communities, Economic Development, Transportation, Gateway Cities

Ready for Reform?

Public Opinion on Criminal Justice in Massachusetts

Ben Forman, Rich Parr and Steve Koczela

This full report expands on the findings presented at MassINC’s Criminal Justice Summit with Gov. Patrick in February 2013. The research – a poll of Massachusetts residents and four focus groups, conducted by the non-partisan MassINC Polling Group – shows that Bay Staters want a criminal justice system that is effective at reducing crimes through read more

Topic(s): Criminal Justice, Public Opinion

Going for Growth

Promoting Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Massachusetts Gateway Cities

Ben Forman and Sandra Larson

This policy brief explores opportunities to leverage the energy immigrant-owned businesses bring to Gateway Cities as an economic development strategy. Immigrant-owned shops are already revitalizing downtowns in Gateway Cities across the state. These small storefront businesses could become launching pads to larger enterprises, providing an even greater contribution to local and regional economic development. But read more

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

The Gateway Cities Vision for Dynamic Community-Wide Learning Systems

Ben Forman, Julianne Viola and Caroline Koch

Developed collaboratively with Gateway City mayors, managers, and education leaders, this vision highlights effective new models to prepare students for the changing economy and ensure an adequate supply of skilled workers for growing regional economies across the Commonwealth. The Vision also calls for strategies that leverage the educational assets of our urban centers so that read more

Topic(s): Education, Gateway Cities

Crime, Cost, and Consequences

Is it Time to Get Smart on Crime?

Ben Forman and John Larivee

As the title suggests, the report calls into question Massachusetts’s current approach to corrections, which favors long prison stays at the expense of treatment, reentry programming, and post-release supervision. Without a change in course, the report concludes that Massachusetts will spend more than $2 billion over the next decade on corrections policies and practices that read more

Topic(s): Criminal Justice

Reinventing Transit

A Blueprint for Investing in Regional Transportation Authorities for Strong Gateway City Economies

Ben Forman and Catherine Tumber

Transportation networks provide the backbone for economic development in regions across the state. Public transit is an important component of these networks, increasing access to jobs, housing, and services. Leaders on Beacon Hill are considering transportation investments with the potential to shape the Commonwealth’s physical and economic landscape for generations to come. State funding for read more

Topic(s): Economic Development, Transportation, Gateway Cities

Transformative Redevelopment

Strategic State Policy for Gateway City Growth and Renewal

Alan Mallach, Ben Forman and Margaret Keaveny

Transformative redevelopment describes public and private financial support for projects that catalyze significant follow-on private investment, leading over time to the transformation of an entire downtown or urban neighborhood. This approach seeks to repair weak real estate markets where development costs outweigh returns, creating a gap that impedes the flow of private investment; it contrasts read more