Projects

The Gateway Cities Project

The UMass Dartmouth Urban Initiative is committed to its Gateway Cities Project and its partnership with MassINC in helping the eleven Gateway communities develop an effective statewide urban agenda that can not only benefit these historic core regional cities but also act to relieve the pressures in and around Greater Boston for a more balanced and sustainable economic future in the Commonwealth. Together with mayors, city managers, and economic development directors, the Urban Initiative and MassINC are working to bring together members of the Gateway Cities’ legislative delegations and the Patrick-Murray administration to build a strong partnership and consensus on vital policies that will act to stimulate the economies of these communities, give elected and appointed officials the tools necessary to attract new investments, and address the socioeconomic concerns that often act as barriers to revitalization.

• Learn more about the Gateway Cities Project.
• Read about the Gateway Cities Compact Signing Event.
• Read about the Gateway Cities Conference.

Springfield Economic Growth Initiative

Like many of its Gateway sister-cities, Springfield has been struggling with the transition from an economy largely based upon manufacturing to today’s knowledge-based industries. Together with our partners at MassINC, the Urban Initiative recently completed a contract with the City of Springfield’s Office of Planning & Economic Development to conduct a comprehensive examination of Springfield’s current economic challenges, assess the potential of the City’s assets, and propose concrete measures for implementation that will assist the city in its future economic develop efforts. The project will consist of a major public input and awareness campaign that will seek to draw from the talents and experience of Springfield’s business community, elected and appointed officials, and residents as a way to guide and inform the research, data collection, and recommendations for future action.

• To learn more, read the Springfield Project Description.
• In the news:
  • Growth Strategy Study Planned [PDF]
    (Springfield Republican, May 26, 2008)
  • Springfield Needs Economic Boost [PDF]
    (Springfield Republican, June 3, 2008)
  • Future charted for Springfield [PDF]
    (Springfield Republican, March 8, 2009)
  • Republican Editorial: City needs new suit of economic armor [PDF]
    (Springfield Republican, March 8, 2009)
• On October 16, 2008, the Urban Initiative and MassINC hosted a community forum at Springfield’s Central High School to provide residents and stakeholders in the community an opportunity to share their thoughts on a vision for Springfield’s future as it relates to community and economic development. Nearly 100 residents of Springfield and surrounding communities were in attendance. To learn more about the community forum read the following article:
  • Residents Offer Tips for Growth [PDF]
    (Springfield Republican, October 17, 2008)

Downtown Taunton: Challenges & Opportunities

Like many of the Commonwealth’s urban centers outside of Boston, Taunton’s downtown area finds itself at a crossroad of significant challenges and opportunities as its civic organizations, business leaders, and elected and appointed officials work together toward plans for its revitalization. As such, the City of Taunton’s Office of Economic and Community Development recently engaged the services of the Urban Initiative to work on an analysis of these challenges and opportunities that can help the city to attract new commercial, cultural, and residential activity in the Downtown. The analysis will also include an assessment of parking and its availability as well as the potential for creating additional parking. In addition, the study will also take a look at the role to be played by various partners and organizations in the downtown and explore the potential for new and/or expanded partnerships.

Dropout Prevention in the SouthCoast: Choosing a New Path to Economic Prosperity

The SouthCoast region is made up of a diversity of communities from urban cities like Fall River and New Bedford to towns like Fairhaven and Acushnet. Across each community, challenges are similar but also different in many ways. With an interest in efforts to enhance educational attainment for the region’s residents, the SouthCoast Development Partnership engaged the services of the UMass Dartmouth Urban Initiative to perform an analysis of school dropout in the SouthCoast’s fifteen communities and to conduct a concurrent study of national best practices for dropout prevention that, if implemented or expanded upon in the region, would have a significant effect in reducing the incidence of dropout behavior among students across the SouthCoast.

To learn more, visit our Research & Reports page.