Fall 2006 Fall 2006

September 1, 2006
  • Industrial Ecology: Environmental and Economic Boon
    by John Ehrenfeld, International Society for Industrial Ecology
    A movement that began almost accidentally 35 years ago in Denmark is showing that when factories use the waste of other nearby factories as their raw material, advantages to the environment and the local economy abound.
  • Data and Measurement in Community Economic Development
    Highlights of a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
    Last April, Ben Bernanke spoke at a Greenlining Institute conference in Los Angeles on ways to evaluate community development initiatives. Communities , Banking offers highlights and directs readers to the full text at www.federalreserve.gov.
  • Responsive Community Development
    First Person with Sharon Conard-Wells, Executive Director of West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation
    In spite of being told it couldn’t be done, Conard-Wells spearheaded the transformation of Rau Fastener, an abandoned Providence factory. Today, attractive mixed-income rental units anchor a larger revitalization effort in the West Elmwood neighborhood.
  • Public Pensions: The Multiplier Effect
    by Doug Hoffer, Policy Analyst
    Public pension funds can play a role not only in ensuring retirees’ economic security, but also in promoting local economic-development goals.That’s why increasing numbers of elected officials and trustees are investigating “economically targeted investment.”
  • Mapping New England: Concentration of Poverty
    by Ricardo Borgos, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
    In 2000, 9 percent of New England’s population lived below the poverty level, and more than 5 percent of the region’s communities had poverty levels higher that 20 percent.
  • Help for Low-Income Families
    by Lynn Mitchell, Corporate Voices for Working Families
    Insurance company MassMutual has expanded its support of education by offering to pay the life insurance premium for qualified individuals making less than $40,000 per year. Death benefits go to the education of a policyholder’s children.
  • New Horizons for New England Agriculture
    by James Putnam, II, First Pioneer Farm Credit
    In 2005, the national Farm Credit System undertook a comprehensive research project to examine agriculture and rural America and analyze trends. The author tackles the implications for New England and suggests appropriate policy goals.
  • Home Ownership in a High-Cost Region
    by Esther Schlorholtz, Boston Private Bank
    A perfect storm is brewing in eastern Massachusetts: high home prices, rising interest rates, and a proliferation of high-cost mortgage products. More buyer education and better state regulation of lenders not covered by the Community Reinvestment Act are needed.
  • Youth Flight: Are Housing Costs the Issue?
    by Elizabeth Humstone, Community Development Advisory Council
    Young people are leaving New England. To combat the problem, the six states should not go it alone but should promote cooperation among governments, businesses, housing advocates, and educational institutions to devise regional strategies and solutions.
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