This month, we're excited to announce the release of 'Innovating for Growth: a Gateway Cities Symposium,' a report by the Urban Initiative documenting an event hosted by the MassTech Collaborative and the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development last fall.
The event featured Governor Patrick, Desh Deshpande of the Merrimack Valley Sandbox, Mayor Alex Morse of Holyoke, and Mayor Jon Mitchell of New Bedford. Topics included strategies for promoting and supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in the Gateway Cities, the role of culture and leadership, and ways for the Commonwealth to support these efforts statewide and locally.
We're glad that our students had the opportunity to participate in and contribute to this conversation, and we look forward to its continuation in Fall River, New Bedford, and statewide.
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SouthCoast Urban Indicators Project
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With temperatures and ice cream sales on the rise, the data suggests we should expect crime to increase too (but remember, the ice cream isn't to blame). So how bad is violent crime in our neighboring Gateway Cities, anyway? - Fall River's 2010 murder rate was 5.6 per 100,000 residents
- In New Bedford, the murder rate for the same year was 3.2 per 100,000
- For context, rates in Worcester, Providence, and Boston were 3.8, 8.7, and 11.3
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From the blog
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- Colleen breaks down the changes coming to trash and recycling collection in Fall River and New Bedford and the potential impacts of these big shifts
- We've got another blog posts from Professor Gloria de Sa's students (an overview of the process and their topics is here); this one considers what it's like to live in New Bedford while earning minimum wage
- Here's a glimpse at the projects we're working on this month
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Grants
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Nordson Foundation - Deadline: August 15
Grants are available to 501(c)3 organizations in Rhode Island and southeastern MA. Funding decisions are based on community needs in the areas of education, human welfare, arts and culture, and civic issues. Learn more and apply online via this link.
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Job opportunities
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Urban Initiative Summer Internship ProgramWe're accepting applications until the end of the month for our summer internship program for area high school students. Click here to view the full job description. Executive Director, Leadership SouthCoastLSC is seeking a full-time director who can expand the program's curriculum and strengthen its alumni network. Qualifications include a Bachelor's degree, knowledge of the region, and fundraising experience. More details here.
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About the Urban Initiative:
The UI addresses challenges and opportunities in the region's smaller industrial cities, also known as Gateway Cities, with an emphasis on neighboring Fall River and New Bedford. In addition to conducting applied research, evaluating programs, facilitating collaborations, and providing technical assistance to cities and organizations, the Urban Initiative serves as a knowledge base for urban policy issues in the region. Perhaps most importantly, our work to support cities supports UMass Dartmouth undergraduate and graduate students, who apply their coursework in the field by serving as paid staff and interns.
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