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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Exploring Opportunities For Urban Youth Inclusion In The Creative Economy In Boston’S Dudley Square, Susan Crandall, Marija Bingulac, Bianca Ortiz-Wythe, Andrew Seeder
Exploring Opportunities For Urban Youth Inclusion In The Creative Economy In Boston’S Dudley Square, Susan Crandall, Marija Bingulac, Bianca Ortiz-Wythe, Andrew Seeder
Center for Social Policy Publications
Communities throughout the U.S. need to attract and retain businesses and talent to grow and to thrive. One approach to economic development which has gained traction in recent years is the concept of a “creative economy,” which suggests that investing in creative occupations and industries is integral to support economic and culturally vibrant cities.
Although the implementation of creative economy initiatives has successfully boosted economic development in some cities and regions, critics have argued that a focus on the creative economy is fueling urban inequality, focusing primarily on college-educated professionals and ignoring the needs of blue collar and service workers. …
Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community (Presentation Slides), Donna Haig Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter
Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community (Presentation Slides), Donna Haig Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter
Center for Social Policy Publications
Presentation about the Boston Thrive in 5 program.
Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community, Year 4 - Summative Evaluation Brief, Prepared For Thrive In 5, Donna Haig Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter
Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community, Year 4 - Summative Evaluation Brief, Prepared For Thrive In 5, Donna Haig Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter
Center for Social Policy Publications
Boston is a diverse vibrant community that has become a 'majority minority' city; 64% of Boston households with young children are people of color. However, economic and racial disparities hinder the realization of children's potential: over 38,000 children five and younger live in the city and 24% of these children live below the federal poverty line.
In 2008, cognizant of persistent academic achievement gaps, especially for low income children and children of color in the city, the late Mayor, Thomas M. Menino, and United Way of Massachusetts Bay issued a school readiness call for action. Sixty-five community leaders, representing all …
Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community January-July 2015 Report, Donna Haig Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter
Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community January-July 2015 Report, Donna Haig Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter
Center for Social Policy Publications
No abstract provided.
Center For Social Policy: Reshaping Poverty Policy For And With Families And Communities, Julia Tripp, Mary Coonan, Priyanka Kabir, Susie Devins
Center For Social Policy: Reshaping Poverty Policy For And With Families And Communities, Julia Tripp, Mary Coonan, Priyanka Kabir, Susie Devins
Office of Community Partnerships Posters
The Center for Social Policy is a research and evaluation think tank of choice for policy makers, funders, and business leaders focused on the root causes of poverty. Our research and evaluation work helps organizations adapt to changing needs in a changing world. Our recommendations and technical assistance lead to community-driven systems change and improved program and business practices.
Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community July-December 2014 Report, Donna Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter
Boston Children Thrive In 5: Connecting Families, Building Community July-December 2014 Report, Donna Friedman, Mary Coonan, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter
Center for Social Policy Publications
No abstract provided.
Resilient Communities/Resilient Families, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Resilient Communities/Resilient Families, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Office of Community Partnerships Posters
The Center for Social Policy (CSP) serves as a strategic learning and evaluation partner to The Boston Foundation (TBF). TBF’s investment and people and place-based initiatives seek to make sustainable, positive change through community and economic development in neighborhoods along the Fairmount-Indigo transit line in Boston. As part of the Resilient Communities/Resilient Families (RC/RF), CSP with Mattapan United and Millennium 10 (in Codman Square/Four Corners) to identify community priorities for neighborhood change. From 2013-2015, the Center team is evaluating these neighborhood change efforts, as well as other initiatives aimed at increasing economic well-being for neighborhood residents.
The Campus Kitchen At Umass Boston Student-Powered Hunger Relief In Boston, Office Of Student Leadership And Community Engagement, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Walter Denney Youth Center, Housing Opportunities Unlimited, St. Peter's Teen Center, John Winthrop Elementary, Project Alerta, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Camp Shriver, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Inc., Sodexo
The Campus Kitchen At Umass Boston Student-Powered Hunger Relief In Boston, Office Of Student Leadership And Community Engagement, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Walter Denney Youth Center, Housing Opportunities Unlimited, St. Peter's Teen Center, John Winthrop Elementary, Project Alerta, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Camp Shriver, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Inc., Sodexo
Office of Community Partnerships Posters
The Campus Kitchen at the University of Massachusetts Boston (CKUMB) is a part of The Campus Kitchens Project. (CKP), a national network of student volunteers, works to rescue excess food to create meals for those in need. CKUMB opened in 2010 to provide meals for the Dorchester community. By taking the initiative to run a community kitchen, students develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills, along with a commitment to serve their community, that they will carry with them into future careers.
Aging In Boston: Preparing Today For A Growing Tomorrow, Jan E. Mutchler, Bernard A. Steinman, Caitlin Coyle, Hayley Gleason, Jiyoung Lyu, Ceara Somerville
Aging In Boston: Preparing Today For A Growing Tomorrow, Jan E. Mutchler, Bernard A. Steinman, Caitlin Coyle, Hayley Gleason, Jiyoung Lyu, Ceara Somerville
Gerontology Institute Publications
Boston’s population is becoming older than ever before. The oldest Baby Boomer is approaching 70 and reinventing what it means to be a “senior citizen.” Waves of Boomers will forge a new path into later life, creating a population of seniors that is larger and more long-lived than previous cohorts, and diverse in new ways. In 2010, more than 14% of Boston’s residents were 60 years or older, representing 88,000 older people. By 2030, projected increases in the older population will result in as many as 130,000 seniors residing in Boston. How will Boston accommodate its growing older population? What …
Healthy Eating And Savvy Saving: An Evaluation Of Action For Boston Community Development’S Food Dollars Program For Low-Income Elders, Ann Bookman, Susan M. Phillips
Healthy Eating And Savvy Saving: An Evaluation Of Action For Boston Community Development’S Food Dollars Program For Low-Income Elders, Ann Bookman, Susan M. Phillips
Gerontology Institute Publications
This report is an evaluation of an innovative community-based intervention – the Food Dollars Program. Funded by the AARP Foundation, this program was designed and delivered by Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) and their Elder Services staff in order to promote healthy eating and reduce food and economic insecurity among low-income elders in Boston. The impetus for creating this program arose from the challenges many low-income individuals face in purchasing and consuming healthy foods from the five food groups as recommended by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in their ChooseMyPlate model of healthy eating. The Food Dollars curriculum …
Evaluation Of The Family-To-Family Homelessness Prevention Project: Final Report (January 1, 2011-October 31, 2013), Terry S. Lane, Mary Coonan, Arthur Macewan, Risa Takenaka
Evaluation Of The Family-To-Family Homelessness Prevention Project: Final Report (January 1, 2011-October 31, 2013), Terry S. Lane, Mary Coonan, Arthur Macewan, Risa Takenaka
Center for Social Policy Publications
This report describes implementation of the Homelessness Prevention Project of the Family-to-Family Program in Boston over nearly three years: January 1, 2011 and October 31, 2013. The project intended to help families to avoid imminent loss of their housing units. It selected participants that had good prospects for long-term housing and income stability. Project staff thought that modest financial assistance plus case management would enable these families to regain and perhaps even improve their personal and economic circumstances. The Oak Foundation provided major financial support for the project.
The report describes the administration of the project, and then examines the …
Women’S Political Leadership In Boston, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Women’S Political Leadership In Boston, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy
The center tracks the status of women at all levels of government in the New England states. It also provides dynamic web resources to inform and support public leadership of women of color.
This fact sheet presents information and statistics following the 2013 municipal elections in the City of Boston.
Practicum Projects, Michael P. Johnson
Practicum Projects, Michael P. Johnson
Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series
Executive Summary LIFT-Boston, a local non-profit organization, entered into a collaborative partnership in September 2012 with McCormack Graduate School Public Policy Ph.D. students and faculty to develop and execute a research project. The goals of this endeavor were to assist LIFT-Boston in understanding the outcomes associated with its services and enable the organization to further pursue service goals. The primary research questions respond to the organization’s most fundamental questions. These include how the organization’s unique service model impacts clients across several objective and subjective dimensions of well-being. Secondary questions focus on how these impacts may translate into increases or decreases …
Managing Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Helen Levine
Managing Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Helen Levine
Commonwealth Compact
Commonwealth Compact is an organization formed to help make Massachusetts a location of choice for people of color and women in the belief that their contributions are vital to the region’s social and economic future. The need for an initiative such as Commonwealth Compact stems from a number of factors. As racial and ethnic diversity increases across the nation, business and civic leaders agree that it is critical to reverse the reputation that Massachusetts and Greater Boston, in particular, have not been seen as a welcoming, diverse place to live and work for people of color. Without a better reputation …
People And Place: Understanding The Processes, Outcomes And Impacts Of Interventions Of The Fairmount Corridor Initiative, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
People And Place: Understanding The Processes, Outcomes And Impacts Of Interventions Of The Fairmount Corridor Initiative, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Office of Community Partnerships Posters
Through a 5 year grant, the Center for Social Policy (CSP) serves as a strategic learning and evaluation partner to The Boston Foundation (TBF). TBF’s investment and people and place-based initiatives seek to make sustainable, positive change through community and economic development in neighborhoods along the Fairmount-Indigo transit line in Boston. From 2010-2012, the Center team worked closely with Mattapan United and Millennium 10 (in Codman Square/Four Corners) to identify community priorities for neighborhood change. From 2013-2015, the Center team is evaluating these neighborhood change efforts, as well as other initiatives aimed at increasing economic well-being for neighborhood residents. The …
Project Hope; Negotiation To Unify Advocacy For Successful Passage Of Foreclosure Legislation To Protect Low Income Households In Massachusetts, Donna Friedman, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Project Hope; Negotiation To Unify Advocacy For Successful Passage Of Foreclosure Legislation To Protect Low Income Households In Massachusetts, Donna Friedman, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Office of Community Partnerships Posters
Project Hope is a multi-service agency at the forefront of efforts in Boston to move families beyond homelessness and poverty. It provides low-income women with children with access to education, jobs, housing, and emergency services; fosters their personal transformation; and works for broader systems change. The Center for Social Policy was asked by Project Hope to carry out collaborative action research to help them identify viable employment pathways, accessible in the neighborhood or through use of public transportation, for parents with children who have limited workforce experience and education. Together, the research involved: working with agency staff to survey families …
Geographic Information Systems Facilitate Youth, Youth Workers And Community Stakeholder Efforts, Helenmary Hotz
Geographic Information Systems Facilitate Youth, Youth Workers And Community Stakeholder Efforts, Helenmary Hotz
Office of Community Partnerships Posters
A large population of underserved students and residents in the City of Boston suffer from behavioral and/or discipline problems, as well as substance and/or alcohol abuse. A side effect of this behavior is the increasing instance of trash such as cigarette butts, condoms, syringes and packaging being discarded in public areas. The South Boston Youth Action Center (SBYAC) is tackling this problem by making the community aware of the locations and probable sources of this problem. The SBYAC is implementing an effort to rid South Boston parks, playgrounds and areas frequented by children of refuse associated with substance abuse. And, …
Characteristics Of Homeless Individuals Accessing Massachusetts Emergency Shelters, 1999-2001, Tatjana Meschede, Michelle Kahan, Michelle Hayes, Donna Friedman
Characteristics Of Homeless Individuals Accessing Massachusetts Emergency Shelters, 1999-2001, Tatjana Meschede, Michelle Kahan, Michelle Hayes, Donna Friedman
Center for Social Policy Publications
The Center for Social Policy (CSP) at the McCormack Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston oversees the Connection, Service, and Partnership through Technology (CSPTech) project. CSPTech operates a homeless management information system being implemented throughout the Commonwealth. Founded in 1995, this project is a networked computerized record-keeping system that allows homeless service providers across Massachusetts to collect uniform client information over time. This information is aggregated in a database used by service providers, advocates, government officials, researchers, and people experiencing homelessness. Analysis of this information is critical to efforts to understand the extent of this problem in Massachusetts in an attempt …
Eastward Ho: Issues And Options In Regional Development For The Metropolitan Boston Region, Robert C. Wood, Laura C. Ghirardini, Lori L. Prew, Aundrea Kelley
Eastward Ho: Issues And Options In Regional Development For The Metropolitan Boston Region, Robert C. Wood, Laura C. Ghirardini, Lori L. Prew, Aundrea Kelley
John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications
Conventional wisdom suggests that the basic job of public policy studies (and public institutions, for that matter) is to deal in a timely and practical fashion with pressing public issues of the day. The focus typically is on 'ripe' topics, 'hot' political problems. If a study can be ahead of the curve, in John Kingdon's apt phrase "an idea whose time has come," so much the better. But unlike more traditional academic research, where the focus is timeless — i.e., an explanation of previously inexplicable phenomena, timeliness is a prime reason for initiating a policy study.
In this context, analyzing …
A Snapshot Of Individuals And Families Accessing Boston's Emergency Homeless Shelters, 1997, Donna Friedman, Michelle Hayes, John Mcgah, Anthony Roman
A Snapshot Of Individuals And Families Accessing Boston's Emergency Homeless Shelters, 1997, Donna Friedman, Michelle Hayes, John Mcgah, Anthony Roman
Center for Social Policy Publications
This document summarizes key findings from a survey conducted on March 19, 1997 with 338 homeless individuals and 94 families sheltered or served by 33 of 40 shelter programs in the City of Boston. The data presented in this report were collected at one point in time. Point in time data results in an overrepresentation of the "longer term" homeless, and offers limited insight regarding the structural dynamics underlying movement from homelessness to residential stability (Culhane, Lee, Wachter, 1996; White, 1996). However, it does provide a snapshot of the men, women, and children who were spending the night in a …
Shelter Poverty: Housing Affordability Among Asian Americans, Michael E. Stone
Shelter Poverty: Housing Affordability Among Asian Americans, Michael E. Stone
Institute for Asian American Studies Publications
Relatively little research has been conducted that focuses on the housing situation of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (hereafter generally referred to as Asian Americans), especially on the national level. From a review of about 30 articles and reports over the past decade that examine racial/ethnic housing situations nationally, only one specifically addressed housing problems of Asian Americans (Hansen, 1986) while two others included Asian Americans along with other populations of color. Of the remaining articles, most used the terms race, racial discrimination, or segregation in their titles, yet did not include Asian Americans in the studies. Of particular note, …
Preliminary Report On A Comparative Analysis Of The Underlying Dimensions Of Unemployment Among Blacks, Hispanics, And Whites In Boston, Jeremiah Cotton
Preliminary Report On A Comparative Analysis Of The Underlying Dimensions Of Unemployment Among Blacks, Hispanics, And Whites In Boston, Jeremiah Cotton
William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications
There are four major objectives of this research. The first objective is to determine whether and to what extent differences in unemployment rates in Boston among black, Hispanic, and white workers are due to the following: (1) the differences in the percentage of individuals in each group who experience a spell of unemployment at one time or another during the year, that is the incidence of unemployment; or (2) the differences in the average number of spells of unemployment during the year, that is the frequency of unemployment; or (3) the differences in the average length of time a spell …
Boston's Recurring Crises: Three Decades Of Fiscal Policy, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto
Boston's Recurring Crises: Three Decades Of Fiscal Policy, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto
John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications
The word "deficit" has dominated the most recent 35 years of Boston's fiscal history. This report probes the experience and lessons of this history in order to propose a more permanent resolution of Boston's financial difficulties.
Three deficit categories are identified and analyzed: appropriation deficits, revenue deficits and overlay deficits. Over the past 35 years, the City has had 12 years of appropriation deficits, 19 years of revenue deficits and 28 years of overlay deficits. In each year the City's budget was certified as in balance. Deficits became a way of life. Fortunately the overlay deficit problem, except for the …
Boston In Transition: A Financial Analysis, Raymond L. Flynn, Financial Analysis Research Group, John W. Mccormack Institute Of Public Affairs, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Boston In Transition: A Financial Analysis, Raymond L. Flynn, Financial Analysis Research Group, John W. Mccormack Institute Of Public Affairs, University Of Massachusetts Boston
John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications
The new Mayor of Boston must earn the confidence of the taxpaying public in his financial leadership by employing credibility and candor in the management of city affairs.
To begin the process of re-enfranchising Bostonians who have come to mistrust financial decisions seemingly determined by political calculations, the new Mayor must make an accurate disclosure of the City's financial picture, rely on the commitment of the state to properly support its capital city and restore integrity and strong management controls to government operations. Recommendations for budget cuts, hiring freezes and adjustments in tax rates, when they are necessary, should only …
Housing Issues In Boston: Guidelines For Options And Strategies, Joseph S. Slavet
Housing Issues In Boston: Guidelines For Options And Strategies, Joseph S. Slavet
John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications
Most of the recent analyses of Boston's housing problem reveal a complex and contradictory mix of positive trends and negative factors, clouded by a growing percentage of poor and near-poor resident households in the City and declining commitments by the federal government to housing, particularly for subsidies of new housing production.
That Boston's housing problem, unlike that of many other large cities, is of manageable proportions, however, is attributable mainly to the following demographic trends and forecasts that are not likely to exacerbate the problem and that many even ease some of the most serious current and future pressures of …
Boston's Housing In 1984: Issues And Opportunities, Rolf Goetze
Boston's Housing In 1984: Issues And Opportunities, Rolf Goetze
John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications
Sharp cutbacks in federal aid for housing and community development now challenge Boston to become more resourceful in its housing strategies. In the neighborhoods where new solutions are needed, much has already been happening that can be adapted and expanded. Fortunately, the City's resurgence can also help achieve more results with less public resources, but a fresh approach involving community interests is essential. At the same time, local laws, procedures and programs devised to address past problems must also be critically re-evaluated to determine their appropriateness to the new realities.
Confidence in Boston's future is being uplifted, and many neighborhoods …
Issues Facing Boston: 1984, Housing, Phillip L. Clay
Issues Facing Boston: 1984, Housing, Phillip L. Clay
John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications
The housing problem in Boston is one issue facing the new council which offers both opportunity and complexity. In a city where 70 percent of the households are tenants, where incomes are low and housing expensive, and where major demographic and economic changes are taking place, easy answers are not available. But housing, unlike other issues, is a matter over which the city has some leverage so that progress will be noted and appreciated by an increasingly attentive electorate.
In recent years, the city has not faced the challenge of greater local discretion in housing policy (made available by the …
Shelter Poverty In Boston: Problem And Program, Michael E. Stone
Shelter Poverty In Boston: Problem And Program, Michael E. Stone
John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications
This paper argues, first, that most housing problems—in Boston and throughout the nation—are ultimately the result of the squeeze between inadequate incomes, on the one hand, and the cost of profitably providing housing on the other. It is also argued that housing cost and incomes together are the most decisive determinants of the overall quality of life of families and communities. Third, it is contended that the long history of inadequate attempts to cope with the affordabiiity problem have not only failed to solve the problem, but have indeed contributed significantly to the broader and serious problems of the overall …
Housing Issues In Boston: Guidelines For New Policy And Program Perspectives, Joseph S. Slavet, Boston Urban Observatory, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Housing Issues In Boston: Guidelines For New Policy And Program Perspectives, Joseph S. Slavet, Boston Urban Observatory, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Boston Urban Observatory Publications
Urban stagnation and turbulence, the roller-coaster trends In the national and local economy and the vicissitudes of national, state and local public policies have left their mark on Boston's residential neighborhoods and housing markets.
Boston's response to the new opportunities of public policy during the sixties and seventies was to take full advantage of urban renewal, assis ted-housing production and housing rehabilitation. Large-scale activities reshaped the occupancy patterns and market strengths of residential neighborhoods. By mid-1975, however, except for continuing growth in the City's subsidized housing stock, Boston's housing future looked bleak. There was pervasive evidence of a growing housing …
Evaluation Of City Of Boston Fair Housing Programs: The Final Report, Boston Urban Observatory, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Evaluation Of City Of Boston Fair Housing Programs: The Final Report, Boston Urban Observatory, University Of Massachusetts Boston
Boston Urban Observatory Publications
The City of Boston's 3-year Pair Housing Plan (1981-83) identifies the following six goals for achieving greater freedom of choice in housing for its minority residents: 1) To improve the delivery of services relative to the enhancement of freedom of choice to all minorities in Boston as they relate to fair housing; 2) To increase enforcement of fair housing laws; 3) To increase public safety and security to assure equal access throughout the City of Boston; 4) To Increase the participation of all minorities and low-and moderate-income people in all City of Boston housing programs; 5) To increase low-cost housing …