April 25, 2008
Reviving The 'Middle Cities'
Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong speaking at a conference this morning.
The event, organized by the Boston-based Pioneer Institute public policy research center, focused on the ways that the older, industrial cities the institute calls "middle cities" can plan for economic development.
Wong said her vision for Fitchburg is modeled after cities like Cambridge and Somerville. She said she wants to create a dense, walkable city center around the Nashua River, with workplaces, housing and restaurants in the city's old mill buildings. With little parking around the old buildings, she said she wants to make the area more accessible from public transit rather than adding more parking. She said the kind of city she envisions would be attractive to young professionals.
McGourthy said Worcester also needs to make its downtown a livelier place. He said many storefront businesses moved out of downtown after the Common Outlets opened in the 1970s. The office space that filled the downtown buildings makes the area unattractive to pedestrians.
"When you walk down Main Street you often see blinds on either side of you," he said.
Currently, McGourthy said, the city is looking at attracting businesses to the ground floors of downtown buildings that will encourage visitors to the DCU Center or Hanover Theatre to spend more time in the area.
Greg Bialecki, a state economic development official, touted the state's new growth districts program, which encourages development in specific areas, including a section of Worcester around Gateway Park. The effort will help cities plan for specific types of growth rather than just reacting to developers' proposals, he said.
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