Official Publication of the National League of Cities OFFICIAL PubLICAtION OF tHe NAtIONAL LeAgue OF CItIeS
NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
Volume 35, Number 20 | may 21, 2012

IN tHIS ISSue
www.nlc.org
PAge 3

PAge 3
NLC Opposes Legislation that
Undermines Partnership with Feds
PAge 4
Final Print Edition of Nation’s Cities
Weekly Published Today
PAge 7
Upcoming Webinars
NLC to Partner on MacArthur-Funded Study of
City Fiscal Health

by Gregory Minchak
The National League of Cities Center
for Research & Innovation has received
a three-year grant from the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to
study city governments’ responses to and
recovery from the Great Recession.

Annual NLC surveys have shown a
persistent trend of city service cuts and
retrenchment over the last decade. From
2009 to 2011, budgets were cut most
often in infrastructure and personnel,
including wages, pensions and benefits.
Michael Pagano, dean of the College
of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at
the University of Illinois at Chicago said,
“The Great Recession has endangered
city services and cities’ ability to invest
in any future economic growth. This
level of analysis will enhance dialogue on
issues like pensions, workforce develop-
ment, cuts to social and human services,
jobs, public safety and the tax base,”
Pagano said.
The researchers, led by Pagano and
Hoene, will release continuous reports
throughout the three-year period covered
by the MacArthur grant.
NLC has long partnered with the
University of Illinois at Chicago on the
study of city fiscal conditions. The uni-
versity ranks among the nation’s leading
research universities. A hallmark of the
campus is the Great Cities Commitment,
through which faculty, students and staff
engage with community, corporate,
foundation and government partners
in hundreds of programs to improve
the quality of life in metropolitan areas
around the world.

boston’s Innovation District Cultivating a Culture of entrepreneurship
November Congress of Cities to Spotlight boston’s Success

By Katie McConnell
In January 2010, as Mayor M.
Menino began his fifth consecutive
term as Boston’s mayor, he launched a
new approach to spur economic devel-
opment along the city’s waterfront.
The mayor called for a strategy that
was more deliberate and experimental
to create jobs, provide housing oppor-
tunities and build upon the city’s many
assets.

Newspaper Handling

Much of the Innovation District’s
success hinges on attracting entrepre-
neurs to the area; the major draw is
the many networking, accelerator and
support opportunities located in one
place. For example, MassChallenge, a
global start-up accelerator and com-
petition offers 125 finalists access to
three months of free office space in the
Innovation District, mentors, work-
shops and cash prizes totaling $1 mil-
lion. This year’s MassChallenge has
attracted applications from 1,237 start-

see page 8, column 1

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