Marketing and information are critical to ensuring that the development community invests in areas consistent with MetroFuture.  Various public agencies, quasi-public organizations, and public/private partnerships provide statewide and national marketing to priority development sites and other designated locations.  Examples include the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, the Massachusetts Alliance for Economic Development, MassDevelopment, and municipal economic development departments.  

Nearly every community in Metro Boston is served by a Council on Aging.  The mission of these volunteer, municipally appointed agencies is to link seniors with resources through service delivery or coordination, and community education and advocacy.  Each council focuses on a specific municipality and, most offer information and referral, transportation, outreach, meals (congregate and home delivered), health screening, and fitness and recreation programs.  

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

Immigrant entrepreneurs should be meaningfully incorporated into overall economic development strategies at the state and local levels.  Industry associations and community based economic development organizations must find ways to effectively connect with immigrant communities that are often out of the mainstream economy.  

Foreign-born immigrants who study and then remain in the United States drive innovation, create jobs, and help keep the economy strong.  Highly educated immigrants are likely to be trained in high-demand fields such as computer science, mathematics, architecture, engineering and life and physical sciences. Although qualified, many immigrants cannot attain the credentials they need to practice their occupations in the United States because of outmoded regulations.

Over the past 60 years the Commonwealth has built 50,000 units of public housing.  Of those, approximately 32,000 units serve elderly and handicapped households, 15,000 serve families, and 3,000 serve individuals with special needs.  State-assisted public housing is located not just in cities but also in most suburbs and many rural areas – altogether in 242 of Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns.

The production of affordable units is only one component of increasing regional equity.  Repeated studies demonstrate that housing discrimination still exists in Metro Boston.  Extensive paired testing has uncovered a pattern of discrimination in the rental, purchase, and financing of properties to people of color, families with children, and people receiving housing assistance. These tests show that people of color experience discrimination in at least half of their attempts to secure housing in Greater Boston.

Municipalities may establish a preference for local residents during the selection of occupants for affordable housing.  Currently, up to 70% of the units can be for local preference based on regulations from the Department of Housing and Community Development.  Local preference criteria might be designed to address truly local housing needs -- needs that are unique to the community and perhaps not found in other areas of the region.  While local preference criteria may not include discriminatory criteria beyond an individual's location of residency, these preferences may cre

Housing discrimination has tremendous economic and quality-of-life repercussions for the entire region and must be addressed to advance regional equity and prosperity.

The region’s employers are well aware that high housing costs and the lack of affordable housing is a major challenge to retaining a high-skilled workforce in Metro Boston.  While there are many public programs and zoning tools that can increase the supply of housing, there is also a role for employers in connecting workers to housing opportunities.  There are many models of Employer Assisted Housing (EAH) programs providing different types of benefits to employees.  They generally involve financing tools such as loans or rental assistance so that employers can increase