Summary:

MassINC's Gateway Cities Innovation Institute is proud to present Reinventing Transit: Investing in Regional Transportation Authorities for Strong Gateway City Economies. 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.

Summary:

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 sharply with current policies, which are far too modest to help Gateway Cities restore healthy real estate markets.

Summary:

MassINC is pleased to present a new report that looks at the power of creative placemaking as strategy for growth and renewal in the Commonwealth’s Gateway Cities.

Summary:

This poll was commissioned by MassINC as part of a newly-funded initiative to create a leadership network around the role of the arts in the economic revitalization of Gateway Cities, a strategy the National Endowment for the Arts calls “creative placemaking.”

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This report examines the advantages of a more regionalized approach to transportation financing that would give communities across Massachusetts the ability to invest in transportation infrastructure at levels consistent with their needs. The analysis quantifies the revenue generating potential of two regional financing mechanisms: a payroll tax and a tax on vehicle miles traveled.

Summary: MassINC is proud to release Going for Growth: New Education-Housing Partnerships to Stabilize Families and Boost Student Achievement, the fourth brief in a series exploring policy innovations to spur reinvestment and renewal in the state's key regional cities.

Summary:

Despite years of independent reports sounding the alarm, the state’s inadequate transportation finances continue to place this critical infrastructure in jeopardy. This stubborn challenge persists because transportation lacks a broad base of support and the public is not adequately informed about transportation infrastructure’s critical economic contribution. In response, the strategy paper offers a comprehensive plan that would set the stage for long-term stability.

Summary: The market for personal financial services in many Gateway City neighborhoods is awash with high-cost products that strip working families of hard-earned dollars they can ill afford to lose. This policy brief – the third in MassINC’s Going for Growth series – describes strategies to help families transition to lower-cost financial services and redirect their savings toward wealth building investments.

Summary:

This policy brief examines Massachusetts housing investment over the last decade and a half and finds that state housing programs designed primarily to increase affordability in strong markets have not been able to meet the needs of Gateway Cities. The second in our Going for Growth series, this paper explores new strategies to catalyze the reinvestment Gateway Cities need for vibrant residential neighborhoods.

Summary: Building for the Future analyzes Springfield's social and economic conditions as they relate to future growth and development. This report was prepared jointly by MassINC and the UMass Dartmouth Urban Initiative to inform dialogue around a comprehensive long-term growth strategy for the City of Springfield.