Sustaining the Boston Renaissance:
April 27, 2005

Greater Boston’s leading politicians, civic leaders, and scholars, including Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, gathered April 27 to discuss the factors and policies that shape Boston’s economic future. The discussion occurred at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

The event was co-sponsored by the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s New England Public Policy Center.

Bank President and CEO Cathy E. Minehan opened the proceedings and Mayor Menino delivered opening remarks. Edward Glaeser, a professor of economics at Harvard University and director of the Rappaport Institute, delivered an overview presentation that summarized key findings from his research on why certain regions, such as Boston, have thrived in recent decades. The Rappaport Institute also released a new “Policy Brief,” by Glaeser on these issues, entitled "Smart Growth: Education, Skilled Workers and the Future of Cold-Weather Cities."

Following Glaeser’s presentation, a panel of leading officials, practitioners and scholars discussed the forces and policies they believe will shape the region’s future. Panelists included: Lynn Browne, executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank; Paul Grogan, president and CEO of The Boston Foundation; David Feigenbaum, former managing partner of Fish & Richardson L.P., which specializes in intellectual property issues; Phillip Clay, the chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a professor of city planning at MIT; State Senator Jack Hart, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies; Eric Kriss, secretary of the Executive Office of Administration and Finance; Mark Maloney, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority; and Douglas Rae, professor of political science at Yale University. David Ellwood, dean of Kennedy School of Government, moderated and delivered closing comments.

Agenda
Speakers
Powerpoint presentation given by Ed Glaeser
"Smart Growth: Education, Skilled Workers and the Future of Cold-Weather Cities" by Ed Glaeser, Harvard University
"Regional Growth Patterns Addressed," by Daniel Hemel, The Harvard Gazette, 5/5/2005.
"It's the Weather, Stupid" by Drake Bennett in the Boston Sunday Globe Ideas Section on 5/1/2005
"Experts Ponder Outlook for Boston's Next Rebirth" by Craig Sandler in the State House News 4/28/2005
"Whipping the Sun Belt: How the Hub Can Stop Top Workers from Flying South" by Jay Fitzgerald in the Boston Herald 4/27/2005