There’s an old Japanese proverb: Vision without planning is a dream, but planning without vision is a nightmare. We live the proverbial nightmare on the Bay State’s roads and public transit systems, but this week we got a signal that the future may be brighter. On Monday, the MBTA Financial Management Control Board (FMCB) passed five
TTOD Competition
Community Engagement Update
Dear Gateway Cities friends and supporters, We have received requests asking for more information on the community engagement component of our TTOD Competition, so we would like to lay out the requirements here and hopefully address some of your questions and concerns. Our goal is to encourage participation, not just input, from the people who live, work, learn,
Extending TTOD Competition proposal deadline to the first week of January!
Announcing the new schedule
Dear Gateway City friends and supporters, We have received great, constructive feedback in the past few weeks about our TTOD Planning and Design Competition. We have heard from many students and professors that our November 6th deadline for proposal submissions is challenging considering the confines of semester and capstone project scheduling. Our cities are also
Fall River entrepreneur brings healthy food and a heap of inspiration to Gateway City neighborhoods
Gateways Episode 35
This week on Gateways, we give you Tracy Corley’s live conversation with entrepreneur Luis Gonsalves during the October 2nd Entrepreneurship For All Leadership Summit in Lowell. Luis is an alum of New Bedford High, the US military, and EforAll, which gave him the tools to thrive in the competitive restaurant industry.
Gateway City leaders speak on opportunity zones
Gateways Episode 34.5
On this bonus episode of Gateways, we continue the conversation on federal Opportunity Zones legislation. Last episode, our guests broke down what Opportunity Funds can do and pointed out areas where they are failing the highest-need communities in our Commonwealth.
Are Opportunity Zones sites of misfortune for distressed neighborhoods?
Gateways Episode 34
When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was unveiled in 2017, much of the national attention was trained on the debate between Republicans and Democrats over whether the cuts disproportionately helped the rich. Woven in the tax code, however, a federal initiative known as Opportunity Zones promised to incentivize
Poll: Massachusetts residents support major changes to rail service, restructuring fares
Residents see opportunities to expand rail overall, improve the Commuter Rail system, and show interest in Gateway Cities development possibilities this could unlock
Massachusetts residents support major changes to the Commuter Rail system and several ways to pay for them, according to a new poll from The MassINC Polling Group. The survey, which was conducted with input from MPG’s parent think-tank MassINC, was funded by the Barr Foundation. Three-quarters of residents statewide support moving the commuter rail towards
Gateway City TTOD Planning and Design Competition
Call for Participants
Proposal deadline extended to January 12, 2020! The revised schedule and requirements give you more time to select your plan or project. MassINC invites Gateway City planning and development teams to participate in the 2020 Transformative Transit-Oriented Development (TTOD) Planning and Design Competition. The purpose of the competition is to connect Gateway City planning and
Fares for Gateway Cities residents are off the rails
Gateways Episode 32
MassINC recently published a report on fare equity that confirmed what most of us already know: the lowest-wealth Commonwealth residents pay more of their incomes to get around the state than wealthier folks. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the MBTA’s commuter rail network, a public
Reducing train fares to achieve equitable TOD
The Gateway Cities Journal
MassINC released a policy brief this week that is a “classic” in the sense that its main finding—many Gateway City residents can’t afford to ride commuter rail—is blatantly obvious. While this problem has been apparent for some time, we think now is the moment to seek a remedy. Transportation has risen to the top of the