The Walczak Administration will work to support Boston’s growing economy by making the most of its unique economic advantages and by ensuring that Boston continues to be a desirable place to live work and play by:
• Recognizing that to succeed in the 21st Century, cities must work collaboratively with the surrounding communities with which they share transportation systems and other infrastructure as well as a workforce
• Insuring predictability in the City’s dealings with the business community through, among other things, strengthening the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s planning function
• Partnering with local universities and hospitals, entrepreneurs and innovators to keep Boston at the forefront of the 21st Century innovation economy
• Working with downtown merchants and restaurateurs to make Boston a 24-hour city
• Supporting neighborhood business leaders to strengthen neighborhood business districts
• Supporting and expanding local cultural offerings to ensure that Boston and Boston’s cultural institutions continue to be destinations for local regional and world-wide audiences
The Walczak Administration will also foster the conditions necessary to insure that the city’s prosperity is shared with all Bostonians by:
• Strengthening the school system, including early education
• Promoting vocational and employment training opportunities to prepare Bostonians for 21st Century economy jobs
• Making affordable housing opportunities available throughout the city and the region
Boston’s Unique Economic Advantages
Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley, of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, argue in their new book, The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy, that today’s industries flourish in urban and metropolitan environments. They attribute this to the fact that companies in many sectors of today’s economy – such as life sciences – are practicing “open innovation,” which requires being close to other companies so that workers can interact, exchange ideas, mentor and be mentored by workers in other firms. They argue that another key factor behind companies’ decision to locate in urban areas is Millennials’ preference to live in quality environments close to their place of employment.
In the depths of the recent recession, New York Mayor Michael Blumberg, concerned that his city was too dependent on the financial services sector and inspired by Katz and Bradley’s analysis, convened hundreds of business and civic leaders and challenged them to come up with a “game changer” for New York City’s economy. The “game changer” that they came up with was to attract world class universities.
New York’s economic development “game changer” was to emulate Boston.
Boston’s strategic advantage in this knowledge economy is evidenced by the fact that, in 2012, for the 18th year in a row, Boston attracted more research dollars from the National Institutes of Health than any other city in the nation, receiving $1.78 billion in total grants comprised of 3,700 separate awards. That represented 72 percent of NIH funding in Massachusetts and 8 percent of the agency’s funding nationally.
Boston has the engine to drive the 21st Century economy. But the next City Administration must support the parts of the engine that are running smoothly and create the conditions in which those parts can be expanded and new adaptations can be added to power the City and the region forward.
Boston’s Equal Opportunity Challenges
Just as important, the next City Administration must address the fact that Boston’s recent economic trends are consistent with the growing inequality nationally; those with advanced education and whose work is innovative and creative are prospering, while those with less education and fewer skills are floundering. A recent analysis by Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies found that from 2009 to 2011, the top 10 percent of Boston families earned as much before-tax income as the bottom 75 percent.
Of equal concern is a recent study of income mobility, The Equality of Opportunity Project, conducted by Harvard and U.C. Berkeley researchers that calculated that the odds that a child born into a family in the bottom fifth income bracket in Boston will reach the top fifth are less than 10 percent.
The researchers identified, if not a roadmap, at least a number of factors that appeared to positively affect income mobility: upward mobility tended to be higher in metropolitan areas where poor families were more dispersed among mixed-income neighborhood and in areas with more two-parent households, better elementary and high schools, and more civic engagement, including membership in community groups.
Partnering for Progress
We appear to be at a point in history in which the roles and responsibilities of different levels of government, and the private and civic sectors, are being re-sorted. With the federal government mired in partisan gridlock and state government unwilling or unable to provide the resources needed to make basic infrastructure upgrades, let alone seed new programs or initiatives, Boston and other cities and towns are on their own, to a far greater extent than at any time in recent memory, to grapple with economic, social and environmental challenges.
One of the reasons for partnering with other cities and towns on an economic development strategy is that it will strengthen our ability to successfully advocate for needed transportation and other infrastructure improvement.
The Walczak Administration will also seek to partner with business, civic, labor, academic, cultural, community, and environmental leaders to review and improve this economic development strategy. I have experienced the power of such partnerships when developing and implementing a strategic plan for Codman Square. So, one of the first steps I will take as Mayor will be to seek out business, labor, non-profit, community and philanthropic leaders willing to share responsibility for and ownership of Boston’s economic and social progress.
A Regional Approach to Prosperity
The first Mayor to be elected in the 21st century must have a bold, new approach to development, which will require taking a regional perspective in many critical areas. Boston is the center of our regional economy and we must start thinking, planning and acting regionally. Rather than competing with Cambridge to attract businesses from one side of the Charles to the other, we need to work with Cambridge and other neighbors to compete for new businesses from the other side of the country and around the world.
We also need a collaborative vision for transportation. Thousands of people cross Boston’s borders — in both directions — every day to get to work. Working with other Greater Boston communities offers our best chance for success in advocating with the State for needed improvements to the trains, buses, bridges and other infrastructure that join our communities together and that are essential to a healthy local and regional economy.
A coordinated approach to housing for families at all income levels is also needed to position Boston and the region for continued economic growth. After experiencing decades of population decline, Boston has, for the last several years, been experiencing growth. Because this is also taking place in surrounding communities, Northeastern University researchers are predicting that Greater Boston may need to double or triple its housing production to meet projected demand through 2020. Boston, alone cannot meet this challenge, but a thoughtful, coordinated regional response can.
City Government
My plan for Economic Development requires smart management of the City’s resources, maintaining the City’s AAA bond rating, and ensuring that business interactions with city government is seamless and predictable, and delivered with excellent customer service. I will require an audit of city departments both from a financial and process perspective to ensure that we are utilizing our resources effectively. All departments will have goals and metrics to measure achievement of them, and departments will use zero-based budgeting to develop annual budgets. I support the continuation of the Menino Administration’s plan to fully fund our pension liability by 2025 and will develop a plan to fund the health insurance liability.
Predictability and Accountability in Development
Revamping the Boston Redevelopment Authority
The Walczak Administration will not abolish the Boston Redevelopment Authority, but will make some key changes to how it operates, starting with increasing the BRA’s capacity to work with business leaders and community residents to conduct intensive master planning and, where needed, rezoning, throughout the city, particularly in areas with existing infrastructure strengths. The Master Plan process must be open, comprehensive, transparent and professional. This planning will be coordinated with other regional municipalities ensure that all of Greater Boston’s attributes are taken into consideration as we prepare plans for Boston. This master planning process will be used to address controversial issues like where to site medical marijuana dispensaries. The BRA’s staffing as well as its operating and capital budgets will be realigned to support both the development and implementation of this master plan. As such, the most important change to the BRA will be a greater focus on planning for the city’s and neighborhoods’ needs in a way that takes uncertainty and capriciousness out of development decisions. That is not a structural change, but a philosophical change.
Business Licensing and Permitting
For many business owners, navigating Boston’s complex licensing and permitting can be an overwhelming task that takes months. This licencing and permitting process is overly complicated – and unnecessarily so. I want to create a government that is customer focused. Customer service needs to be a cornerstone of city government and it will be for my adminstration. Transparency goes hand-in-hand with customer service. Too much time is spent navigating the licensing and permitting process in Boston and that costs businesses money. We need to have the same rules for everyone and have that system easily accessible so everyone can participate.
Innovation Districts
Innovation Districts cluster and connect leading edge research institutions and cutting edge companies with smaller entrepreneurial firms, mixed-use housing, office and retail space, and proximity to means of transport. They provide the physical and social platform for entrepreneurial growth—incubator space, collaborative venues, networking, product competitions, technical support and mentoring. The South Boston Innovation District’s early success is testimony to the efficacy of this model and proof that Boston’s unique academic, medical and research based economy is poised to take maximum advantage of this model.
Growing an innovation economy requires not only the generation of cutting edge ideas at advanced universities, research labs and companies but the creation of large scale, wired areas where these elements can be brought together. That is why I believe the Suffolk Downs property, with its proximity to the airport, represents Boston’s next big opportunity to grow our innovation economy, and why I believe that siting a casino there represents a missed opportunity to build on the South Boston success. More recently, I have called on Harvard University to work with the Allston community to plan an Allston Innovation District. An “enterprise research campus” that has been discussed with the community would provide a critically important complement to the nearby Harvard Innovation Lab and Startup Lab Boston and would provide the opportunity for a genuinely transformative partnership between Harvard, the Allston community and a new City Administration to work together to create a third Innovation District and solidify Boston’s role as a leader in creating the 21st Century economy. I also see opportunity to create a 4th Innovation District in the Dudley area of Roxbury.
24-Hour City
Becoming a 24-hour city offers downtown businesses an opportunity to expand hours and attract new clients and patrons from among the growing number of young adult residents moving in to Boston.
Becoming a 24-hour city will also benefit many of the City’s service-industry employees who work until 2:00am and 3:00am.
Becoming a 24-hour city will require extending the runtimes of buses and subways, in order to cater to the needs of current service industry workers and to stimulate business that would be generated by the bustling nightlife that could exist in our city. We need to develop both an incremental plan and a financial model that will work to create a 24 hour transportation system over the next four years.
In addition to improving late-night public transportation in Boston, we also need to reform Boston’s taxi system, including bringing in an independent consultant to determine the appropriate number of medallions for the city and addressing the need to treat taxi drivers as full-time employees instead of contracted workers. We should also investigate developing a regional taxi system that works with surrounding communities that are part of the Greater Boston community.
Helping Our Neighborhood Business Districts – Supporting our Main Streets Programs
Providing Capital
The Walczak Administration will work with our local community banks and credit unions to create a unique program of microfinancing for neighborhood business districts. Microloans for small businesses are not a new concept – in fact they are used around the world. I will work to create a program that will provide microloans as well as mentors, business development and marketing consultants so neighborhood entrepreneurs and neighborhood business associations will have access to capital and expert advice to help start, strengthen and expand a broad array of neighborhood businesses and neighborhood business districts.
Alcohol Beverage Licenses
Many small restaurant owners are not able to obtain beer and wine licenses due to limits on the number of new licenses issued by the State and the prohibitive costs of purchasing existing licenses. In order to alleviate these problems, I would advocate with our legislative delegation to exempt Boston from the State’s current allocation formula. By removing this threshold, I will then be able to work with the City Council on a process for issuing licenses in a way that will lower the price for neighborhood businesses.
Creative Economy
One of my first actions as Mayor will be to establish a Creative Industries Office within the revamped Boston Redevelopment Authority to, among other things, work with other City departments to integrate the arts into the City’s overall economic development plan. An important component will involve adapting the HandMade in America model to provide the infrastructure, training and wrap-around services needed by micro-artist and crafts people, often single moms, to make the leap from home-based production to scaled and profitable enterprises. In addition, we will locate a year-round retail co-op for artisans in Downtown Crossing as one anchor to that district’s revitalization.
We will also work with neighborhood business districts to support a network of pop-up stores, seasonal markets, and enhanced Open Studios throughout the city.
One of the unfortunate consequences of how the siting of the South Boston Innovation District took place was the displacement of a number of artists and emerging arts organizations. I believe that by participating in the creative processes that take place in innovation districts, artists can play an important role in their success. That is why my proposal for an East Boston Innovation District includes affordable housing and shared workspace for artists.
Boston Film Office
One vital part of the creative economy in Boston is our burgeoning movie and television industry. With the introduction of the state’s film tax credit, production companies spent millions of dollars siting, filming, and contracting for post-production services in Boston. This incentive created thousands of jobs not only within Boston’s entertainment and production community but also in local businesses, including catering companies, equipment rental businesses, hardware stores, hotels, and restaurants.
While these developments provide a boost to our economy, Boston has come under criticism from some in the film and television industry as being a difficult place to navigate when seeking needed permits and licenses. As a result, Boston has lost out to other cities a number of film and television production opportunities, including the television detective show on USA, Rizzoli and Isles, about a Boston Police detective and a Massachusetts state medical examiner, which is being shot in Los Angeles instead of Boston. The Walczak Administration will ensure that the Boston Film Office is customer friendly and an effective advocate for television and film companies by helping with permitting and working in partnership with state organizations, such as the Massachusetts Production Coalition, IATSE, and SAG, to ensure that any production company that wants to come to Boston will be welcomed with open arms.
Ensuring that all Bostonians Benefit from a Strong Economy
Strengthening the School System
The Walczak Education Blueprint outlines changes that begin at birth and give Bostonians access to lifetime learning opportunities. It goes beyond the school improvement litmus test issues of this campaign – expanded charter schools and time in school – and specifically calls for:
• creating and supporting autonomous schools with accountability as the best proven strategy to close the achievement gap
• focusing on school-based leaders as key players working with teachers and parents to effect change
• creating a cross-sector Boston Learning Lab inspired by MIT’s Media Lab to incubate and support innovation in education from birth across the city
• expanding access to K1, high quality early childhood education
• reorganize and downsize 26 Court Street, the district central office, to push much needed resources out to schools
• connecting health care and education to ensure that children arrive at school age ready and able to learn
Promoting Vocational and Employment Training Opportunities
Improving opportunities for Boston children will also require the creation of Vocational & Career-Themed Pathways. Under the Walczak Administration, schools will provide realistic pathways to current and future jobs. This starts with reinventing vocational education at Madison Park High to include both traditional trades and technical programs that evolve with market needs, including a vocational level STEM curriculum. Through cross-sector partnerships and transformative leadership, Madison Park will develop a 21st Century vision to set high expectations, guarantee meaningful co-op experiences and foster a culture that motivates students to excel both in their vocational and academic work. It will also offer vocational adult education on weeknights and weekends for older Bostonians who are currently frozen out of the trade and technical job market.
The Walczak Administration will also strengthen industry partnerships to create more stand-alone career themed schools like TechBoston Academy, Boston Arts Academy and the Edward M. Kennedy Health Careers Academy, including outcome oriented co- op programs for 11th & 12th graders, which could include pre-certification in industry- recognized competencies. As a co-founder of both the Kennedy Health Careers Academy and Codman Academy Charter Public School, I know the value of authentic linkages between schools and industry partners that set high expectations and support student efforts to achieve them.
Housing for the New Economy
Housing is increasingly a Greater Boston issue. The Walczak Administration will work with other regional municipalities, developers and the state to build more housing. Increasing the metropolitan supply of housing can lower, or stabilize, housing prices. More housing supply outside Boston can also help moderate the city’s housing prices. It is absolutely necessary to build new housing near transit stations-regardless of the existing political boundaries. With proper planning, increasing the amount of dense, high-rise development, particularly in the vicinity of public transit stations, promotes smart growth and can take some of the pressure off of housing prices. In addition, incorporating mixed use development, including housing, in Innovation Districts can create very desirable neighborhoods and provide much needed housing for a range of income levels.
