Celebrating summer in the city

Last weekend the Latin American Festival returned to Worcester Common for its 31st annual run. The event is a bookend of sorts, as Worcester started the summer by hosting the largest and oldest Albanian Festival in America. These revelries are by no means unique to New England’s second-largest city. Summer in the Gateway Cities stands out for its full blossom

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.

TTOD Planning and Design Competition

Proposal Deadline Approaching + Updated Guidelines

Proposal deadline approaching! Thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in submitting a project to our TTOD Planning and Design Competition! Many project teams have given us sneak previews of their design, planning, and research projects. We look forward to receiving your final proposals on January 12, 2020. This competition connects student teams with

Exploring the Future of Public-Private Partnerships

Event Recap

Five big picture takeaways from a discussion on the future of public-private partnerships in Gateway Cities On Monday, May 6th, MassINC convened Gateway City mayors, economic development directors, educators, nonprofit executives, and business leaders for a meeting on the future of public-private partnerships. Hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank’s Working Cities Challenge team and with

PROVA!

The Gateway Cities Journal

Live musicians strum a diversity of rhythms, local brews pour freely, and people of all ages dance beneath the humid summer sun-this is the vibrant downtown that we’ve long envisioned for the Gateway Cities, and one newly manifested in Brockton. PROVA!, a twice-weekly celebration of Brockton’s rich multicultural heritage through food, drink, and entertainment, is

Creative Minds Out Loud

Ben Forman on the economic and social benefits of communities abundant with arts and culture

  In Episode 60 of the podcast “Creative Minds Out Loud,” MassINC research director Ben Forman discusses the economic and social benefits of communities which are abundant with arts and culture. A project of the Mass Cultural Council, the podcast features conversations with cultural leaders and those interested in the promotion of the arts in

Entering the fray on education accountability

The Gateway Cities Journal

Recently MassINC convened education leaders from across New England for a dialogue on redesigning state accountability frameworks to comply with the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). We’ll be bringing this group together for several dialogues focused on how states should approach accountability with particular attention to Gateway Cities. The arguments are compelling: small-to-midsize

The Gateway Cities Journal

Creative placemaking succeeds when...

Creative placemaking succeeds when, as the National Endowment for the Arts puts it: “partners from public, private, non-profit, and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities.” Here in Massachusetts, examples abound of successful placemaking efforts in Gateway Cities. Perhaps the most

Demonstrating the Transformative Redevelopment potential of Creative Placemaking through photography

Artists can play a major role in transformative redevelopment because they see space through a different lens, imagining authentic new uses for buildings that increase neighborhood vitality, and draw new investment to abutting properties. Help us demonstrate the opportunities that creative placemakers can unlock in your community. Send along examples of cultural projects that have been
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