Recent Research

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.

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.

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.

This report catalogs the challenges we are likely to face in responding to climate change and demonstrates that there is more work to do to meet the agressive emissions reduction targets the state is legally obligated to achieve.

The data presented in this report show that the last decade was extremely hard for Bay State residents. For the first time since World War II, the Commonwealth ended the decade with fewer jobs and families went without a raise. The report describes how this sour economy created four key hurdles that Massachusetts must now overcome.

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.”

MassINC's new Middle Class Index looks at how well Massachusetts' middle income residents have been faring over the last decade.

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.

With the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008, Massachusetts became one of the first states in the nation to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Meeting the ambitious 80 percent reduction target codified in this legislation will require support and participation from a broad coalition of residents, business interests, and state leaders. This new report presents an in depth public opinion survey that takes stock of progress to date toward building a strong culture of climate protection.