Growth and Development

devens This former US Army base has turned into limbo for the 250 or so people who now live here. Depending on their address, they vote in Ayer or Harvard, […]

INTRO TEXT compared with 11 other older industrial cities in the state, Springfield has valuable things to offer businesses looking for a home: low commercial rents, high-skilled older workers, and […]

INTRO TEXT Two years after Massachusetts passed a law to spur housing construction while avoiding sprawl-style subdivisions, some communities are starting to get with the program. In recent months, six […]

Winter 2006 Dominic Chavez, The Boston Globe It’s unfortunate that the Garden of Peace, a little- known memorial to homicide victims, got its 15 minutes of fame for a nasty […]

If sometime this winter you flip a light switch and nothing happens, think back to where you were on May 8, 2000—the day the electricity industry in Massachusetts started down […]

Population density is a standard yardstick of development, but assessing it is trickier than it seems. According to the standard measure of density, communities in southeastern Massachusetts seem to have […]

If the German company Adidas goes through with its buyout of Canton–based sneaker rival Reebok, the Bay State will be the home of just nine Fortune 500 companies, down from […]

On most evenings, the offices of Lawrence CommunityWorks bustle with activity. The sprawling former mill building that houses the nonprofit community development corporation is divided into many small spaces, which […]

PEPPERELL—This small, hilly town along the New Hampshire border is rural enough to boast that it doesn’t have a single traffic light (town officials don’t count the ones that constantly […]

There is no question that the announcement in January that Procter & Gamble, the Cincinnati–based consumer-products conglomerate, would acquire the Gillette Co., a Boston stalwart, struck a nerve. Partly, it […]

SALISBURY — On a brisk October weekday, the only deals going down on Broadway are at Christy’s, a small pizza stand. At 1 p.m., the lunchtime crowd consists of two […]

INTRO TEXT Mitt Romney swept into office with a vow to put his business know-how to work for the Massachusetts economy. Nearly two years after his arrival, however, employment growth […]

In 1980, Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan, running against Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter, asked voters, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Note that he said “you,” […]

INTRO TEXT Whether the Democratic National Convention will be an economic boon or bust for the city of Boston is still a matter of dispute. But for one rapidly growing […]

The nation is engaged in a tenuous campaign to rebuild and democratize Iraq. In Afghanistan, US soldiers continue to hunt for Al Qaeda terrorists. But back in Washington, the military […]

INTRO TEXT By the time this article appears, an agreement may finally be in place about how to govern and maintain the 27 acres of downtown land now opening up […]