What Happened?
Public officials in Massachusetts, together with a regional non-profit, established a “Gateway Cities Innovation Institute” that will focus on revitalizing former manufacturing centers that have been beset by serious social and economic challenges.
So What?
Though states view “Gateway Cities” differently, in Massachusetts the term refers to industrial cities—typically mill towns—around Boston that have experienced a widening gap along several socio-economic indicators. This dynamic isn’t restricted to Boston, of course, but the approach taken here may be an interesting one for other cities to study and replicate.
The Backstory
The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute will be housed at MassINC, a non-profit think tank that focuses on the middle class in Massachusetts. It is the extension of an effort started back in 2007, when MassINC and the Brookings Institution undertook a study on job-growth disparity in Boston vs. nearby midsize mill cities, like Lowell, Springfield and New Bedford.
From that effort emerged a political and economic agenda for those cities, which share similar challenges and opportunities. Among those challenges:
- Population—Gateway Cities are home to one million residents, comprising 15 percent of the state’s population and 22 percent of the state’s immigrants.
- Education—Gateway Cities have 21 colleges and universities, yet only 7 percent of the state’s residents with four-year college degrees reside in Gateway Cities.
- Health—Gateway Cities have 29 hospitals, yet their residents are disproportionately afflicted by chronic medical conditions including asthma, obesity, and depression.
- Wealth—Gateway Cities represent 30 percent of the state’s poor, 45 percent of welfare cases, 50 percent of incarcerated youth, and a staggering 71 percent of students attending “chronically underperforming” schools.
“Gateway Cities are working hard to reinvent themselves amidst a shifting economy that has left them behind,” said MassINC Greg Torres in a press release. “The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute provides the focus, resources, and network-building capacity needed to give lift to the transformation these cities are undertaking.
In 2008, 11 mayors and managers of Gateway Cities signed a formal Compact for Community and Economic Development, and shortly thereafter the group established a legislative caucus and a formal agenda. The group has already produced some interesting research on transportation, business investment, and other topics.
The Details
MassINC, which is located in downtown Boston, will house and staff the Institute with research and polling, policy development, and civic engagement. Much of the Institute’s work will take place within the cities themselves with the assistance of Gateway City “fellows.” These fellows will be community leaders from various sectors—including business, government, academia and the arts—who will act as subject matter experts for research and forums.
The Institute will be supported by “members”— individuals, institutions, corporations, and foundations that make financial contributions to the Institute.
Initial focus of the Institute will be education, housing, transformative investments, public safety, community health, transportation, and creative “placemaking.”
A Model For Other Cities?
According to some, the Massachusetts initiative could be replicated in other cities. “The Gateway Cities initiative is a national model for how cities with similar profiles can work together to collectively address major policy,” said Nicholas Donohue, President and CEO of The Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
More Information
Visit the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute for more information, or contact Christina Prignano at MassINC via email or at 617-224-1707.