One way to strengthen Gateway Cities is to help families build assets that provide long-term economic stability. In Massachusetts, the Midas Collaborative provides financial education to low-income families and also operates matching-fund programs to encourage long-range saving. As Governing magazine reports, the city of San Francisco is going further by making financial skills part of its kindergarten curriculum.

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.

Advocates for zoning reform in Massachusetts voiced support for new legislation (H. 1859) at a hearing on Tuesday. The bill, which would create more flexible zoning laws throughout the state, was filed by Senator Daniel Wolf and Representative Stephen Kulik. It has won support from the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, the Massachusetts Public Health Association, and the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association.

Massachusetts is not the only state seeking to realize the potential of its older industrial cities. In New York, the favored term is “Legacy Cities,” but ongoing efforts to revitalize upstate urban areas such as Syracuse and Rochester share many strategies and goals with the Bay State’s Gateway Cities initiative. It may be instructive to compare strategies and outcomes in the two states, and INCspot will be following the Legacy Cities initiative in the coming months.

Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office recently launched a grant program that aims to help communities with high levels of distressed and vacant properties revitalize properties for residential use. The grant, called the "Distressed Properties Identification and Revitalization Grant" will accept applications from Gateway Cities and other municipalties that have high rates of distressed properties.