Employers are often unaware of how to accommodate and leverage the capacity of an older workforce.  Older workers with lengthy professional resumes will enter post-retirement jobs with significant skills and abilities that can add value to most work environments.  However, they often need to be re-trained in certain skill sets (such as computer software), and their knowledge base does not necessary qualify them for certification in sectors such as education and child-care where standards are increasing.  As a result, the state’s job training and postsecondary education pro

In 2008, the foreclosure rate in Massachusetts was the highest in the Commonwealth’s history.  In the first three months of 2008, 7,650 properties statewide were seized by lenders, more than double the number seized in all of 2006.  More homes were in the foreclosure process than in all but nine other states.  The causes are complex: many households find it harder to make payments due to adjustable rates, job losses, and health care costs; and a decline in housing prices means that many troubled homeowners cannot sell their homes or refinance before they are seized.

“Scattered site” housing developments comprise multiple units built on multiple parcels, often in single-or multi-family homes.  This model is in contrast to affordable housing development in which all affordable units are built in the same location, either as a stand-alone development or integrated into a development with market-rate units.  Scattered site housing construction has advantages because developers can recognize some economies of scale that go along with construction of multiple units, without concentrating low-income residents or needing large parcels.&nb

The dramatic changes in energy costs expected over the coming decades demand new practices for both the public and private sector.  The faster these sustainable practices are incorporated into municipal operation, the better equipped the region will be to remain successful and competitive through changing times.   More immediately, efforts to advance sustainability will help municipalities to save money on energy, thereby providing some relief to municipal finance.  

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Beyond information and incentives intended for the “rational actor” making location decisions, programs are also needed to address negative perceptions and myths about MetroFuture-consistent locations and increase their attractiveness.

It is essential that the state track and report on performance and progress in coordinating its policies and investments with the Sustainable Development Principles.  This provides for evaluation of those policies and investments, the identification of approaches that are more and less successful, modifications as needed to either improve efficacy or to account for progress made, and the means for the public to hold their government accountable for acting in accordance with its commitments. 

Legislative reform is necessary to eliminate antiquated provisions in the zoning code which impede municipal efforts to implement sustainable land use plans.