John R Mullin

The University and Local Economic Development

John Mullin et al. — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:55:57 PDT

Increasing pressures on universities and educational institutions to be more involved in the communities that house them have led to a wave of interactions that have been both creative and mutually supportive. These ‘town-gown’ relations have stemmed not only from pressures by government leaders, but also from the sense of civic responsibility and the drive for ‘service learning’ where students move beyond the academic walls to engage in real life situations as part of the learning process. The resultant merits are invaluable lessons and experiences that are mutually beneficial to the students and the communities. Similarly, the involvement of community residents with events on campus fosters a mutual relationship and a positive perception towards the university. Challenges with such partnerships include the resentment between the community residents and the university members and the ‘us and them’ mentality that leads to communication blocks, mistrust and resentment. Overcoming these sentiments requires perseverance, patience, and creative thinking. This paper discusses one successful partnership between the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the City of Springfield in Massachusetts. This collaboration was targeted to benefit the City by helping with their economic revitalization efforts, and the University by giving them a space in downtown Springfield for a ‘Design Center’, where students have a meeting space for studio and field work and can then exhibit their work. The paper ends with a set of principles that can guide other institutions and communities in developing strategic outreach and engagement activities.

The Economic Vitality of the Blackstone Valley Mills: A Snapshot at a Moment in Time

John Mullin et al. — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 05:44:25 PDT

The Economic Resilience of the Blackstone Valley Mills Illustrates the Viability of a Flexible-use Business Strategy for New England's Mills and Mill Complexes

Trends in Industrial Development

John Mullin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:04:22 PDT

Zenia Kotval and John Mullin review the key issues involving local land use decisions and industrial development in Massachusetts. They point out that the cumulative impact of town after town discouraging industrial development has resulted in creating a state where land use is a limiting factor for industrial development and growth. Concurring with recent thinking on economic development, the authors take a strong stance that our future economic well being must be based on a mixed economy where industry and manufacturing are a key player.

German City Planning in the 1920's: A North American Perspective of the Frankfurt Experience

John Mullin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 05:56:48 PDT

This paper on German City Planning in the 1920's, represents a North American perspective of the urbanistic experiences of Frankfurt in that period. Tremendous strides and advances were effectuated in virtually all aspects of government, housing policy, open space and town design, prior to the grasping of power by the national socialists. The legacy is an important one, for indeed, many of the great pioneers of early 20th century urbanism worked in Frankfurt, tested their ideas, saw them implemented, and subsequently emigrated from Germany to many parts of the globe, where these experiences followed them.

The Revitalization of New England's Small Town Mills: Breathing New Life into Old Places

John Mullin et al. — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:40:04 PST

This paper describes and analyzes the recent experience of communities in the six New England states concerning the revitalization of their 19th century mills and mill yards. It begins with an examination of the importance of these complexes to the economy of New England in the 19th and early 20th centuries and the slow decline of the mills into the present. It then identifies the factors that are now stimulating their revitalization and provides myriad examples of where success has occurred. This is followed by a section on 'Lessons Learned' from the experience, and a closing comment concerning future actions.

Partnerships and the Fiscal Implications of Planning and Development: A Case Study of Maynard, Massachusetts

John Mullin et al. — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 05:44:21 PDT

Redevelopment of urban sites is an ongoing concern for many communities in the industrial Northeast United States. While many mill sites still languish, examples of successful revitalization can be found. Most of these efforts require more than market conditions to make them viable. Partnerships between developers and the community and state are seen to be crucial. These public-private partnerships come in many forms, not always monetary.

The detail and effectiveness of these partnerships often depend on the experience and expertise of developers and community professionals. Given that many of these communities have limited staff, agreements are often made quickly with a rather short-term perspective. This often leads to either side (most often the municipal side) not fully benefiting in terms of long-term impacts. Longitudinal studies to examine impacts over time are helping understand the complexities of these agreements and offer transferable lessons.

This paper, a case study of public-private investment in an old mill complex located in Maynard, Massachusetts that was vacated in 1993, is intended to help communities consider those costs and benefits. It discusses the historical significance of the mill to the town, examines the rationale for investors to purchase the mill and their intentions in revitalizing the structures, describes the public-private agreements that were undertaken, analyzes the immediate impact of the resulting agreements, and examines the impact over the years.

Book Review of Toward the Planned City: Germany, Britain, The United States and France, 1780-1914

John Mullin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:39:57 PDT

City planning professionals and academics have long understood that the roots of North American planning practice were formulated in Europe. Yet until now there has been no comprehensive study of how these roots were formed and how they were transferred. Anthony Sutcliffe's new book, Toward The Planned City: Germany, Britain, The United States and France, 1780-1914, represents a major contribution in correcting this shortcoming.

Book review of Local Economic Development: A Guide to Practice

John Mullin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:18:36 PDT

In community after community the local planner is becoming increasingly involved in the economic problems facing our cities and towns, with at least partial responsibility for guiding the retention, enhancement, and expansion of the community's economic base. At times he or she takes the lead, serves on economic development committees, or merely provides the data for other organizations. In most cases, however, the planner is being asked for answers to questions that he or she is ill prepared to answer. How many planning directors or senior staff planners are formally trained in, for example, proforma analysis, marketing evaluation, job retraining, real estate feasibility, and project leveraging? The answer is very few. Indeed, both university-based planning programs and the American Planning Association-sponsored short courses are regularly filled wityh planners attempting to develop these new skills. The materials used in these courses are usually borrowed from real estate sources or case examples. For too long there has been no basic introductory, comprehensive text that is designed to educate and train planning practitioners, board members, and students involved in local economic development. Emil E. Malizia's book Local Economic Development: A Guide to Practice makes a solid contribution to that end.

The Role of Incubator Industries in the Local Economy: The Westfield, Massachusetts Experience

John Mullin et al. — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 05:45:20 PDT

This study offers an analysis of the role of incubator industries in the local economy of Westfield, Massachusetts. It presents the results of a survey of 25 owners of small firms which have been in business for less than 10 years, have fewer than 20 employees, manufacture a product, and are registered as doing business in Westfield. The sample size represents approximately 90 percent of all firms in the City which fit the criteria noted above. It is recognized that the sample is quite small and that great care must be used in applying the recommendations to other communities. Yet, while this is simply a case study, it nevertheless serves to identify critical problems and to show how institutional and governmental actions can help to correct these problems. In terms of a contribution toward helping smaller municipalities to understand the needs of small businesses, this must be considered as a first step.

National Industrial Policy and the Local Planner

John Mullin et al. — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:20:53 PDT

This article analyzes the debate concerning the problems, approaches, and intent of industrial policy as it relates to the working planner. It begins with a search for a definition. From there the authors set forth a rationale for such a policy and lay out the key characteristics typically proposed by its advocates. The critical dimensions in the debate are then reviewed. Finally, the potential impacts of various policy options upon local planners are discussed.

Working paper of Fiscal Impact Analysis: Methods, Cases, and Intellectual Debate

John Mullin et al. — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:46:51 PDT

Fiscal impact analysis seeks to connect planning and local economics by estimating the public costs and revenues that result from property investments. This type of analysis enables the comparison of revenues to costs associated with new development indicating whether local government can meet new demands for services, or must raise taxes to meet new service demands. This paper is a comprehensive description and assessment of current methods for estimating fiscal impacts, it discusses the influence of local factors such as property tax structure and type of development or growth pattern on fiscal impacts and limitations of methods frequently used. It concludes with a discussion of alternate assessments and new approaches to assessing the fiscal and equity dimensions of growth and development.

Book Review of America's Ailing Cities: Fiscal Health and the Design of Urban Policy

John Mullin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:30:17 PDT

Over the past decade it has become increasingly clear that many of our larger cities are slowly and steadily moving toward fiscal hard times. Often this trend has been hidden by the polish, glitter, and glitz of showplace downtowns, shopping plazas, and highrise office complexes. Other times it has been hidden by defrayed maintenance of infrastructure, a subtle erosion of services to specific sub-groups in the community, or the collapse of capital improvement planning.

Book Review of Communities on the Way: "Rebuilding Local Economies in the United States and Canada

John Mullin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:17:38 PDT

Many planners caught up in the everyday struggle of preparing zoning bylaws, subdivision regulations, and goverment grants-in-aid often wonder what is happening with that dedicated group of what seem to be counter-culturists across town who are attempting to bring increased prosperity to the community through community-based economic development (CED) initiatives. Rarely communicating with them, perceiving them as outside the political mainstream, infrequently helping them, and often treating them with disdain, too many planners see them as little more than the last vestiges of the grassroots movements of the 1960's. That is a mistake for, as Stewart Perry, president of the Institute for New Enterprise Development, informs us, CEDs represent a critical strategy for bringing improved economic opportunity and stronger community cohesion to distressed areas.

Book review of Deindustrialization and Plant Closure

John Mullin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:06:55 PST

Any planner assigned the responsibility of preparing a recovery plan for a community following a plant closing knows that frustration, heartbreak, and demoralization are all part of the process. The planner also knows that there is little comprehensive literature at either the national or regional levels to help guide the effort. Finding answers to such simple questions as (1) what do I do when the largest plant in town closes or, (2) what are the community's rights and obligations when a plant closes, often proves impossible. The answers to these questions are a bit closer thanks to the work of Paul Straudohar and Holly Brown, Deindustrialization and Plant Closure consists of 26 articles focusing on how the nation, states, and cities must come to grips with the problems of a rapidly changing industrial base.

Book review of The United States in the Global Economy: Challenges and Policy Choices

John Mullin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:28:51 PST

Academics who teach either economic development or industrial policy courses struggle to find a core text to support their courses. Typically they borrow material from business, economics, political science, or public policy and blend articles into a reader that is rearely comprehensive and often lacks continuity. For this reason alone, these academics will be quite pleased to learn of John Accordino's new text, The United States in the Global Economy: Challenges and Policy Choices.

Contemporary Music and the Manufacturing Region: Reflections on Reality

John Mullin et al. — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:17:20 PST

Despite long odds, some distressed, high unemployment regions in the United States survive, revitalize, and prosper. While there are many reasons for their success, we hypothesize that a strong sense of community helps make bearable the anger, frustration, despair, and irrationality that accompany high job losses in a region.

A Top Down Perspective of the Pioneer Valley: The Future of our Industrial Base

John Mullin et al. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:30:34 PDT

Over the past five years the Center for Economic Development has been actively involved in industrial planning activities in virtually every community in the Valley. At times our work has been as local as developing a zoning amendment for an industrial park or preparing an overall economic development program. At other times it has been focused on broad policy aspects such as Governor Weld's recent initiative on improving our economic posture, or participating in the recovery of the WestMass Development Corporation. Throughout our work on approximately 40 different projects, plans and studies, we have been consistently amazed at the degree of change that is occurring. The Valley certainly is not a stagnant place! At times it looks its age and well it should: it is one of the oldest industrial centers in the nation. At other times it is robust and innovative as the Millitechs, Eco Sciences, and National Evaluation Systems are nurtured and move into production. We are regularly asked what this change will mean to the Valley as we move toward the 21st century. It is a difficult question to answer. However, there are some indicators that we believe provide an accurate depiction of where the Valley is going.

Bondi's Island: Its Everybody's Problem

John Mullin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:20:42 PDT

Bondi's Island is so pungently smelly that it is a negative influence on where we live, work, play and invest. If we do not correct the problem quickly, the image of our region as a special place will erode dramatically. Further, this problem does not belong to Springfield alone. It is one that requires strong regional and state participation.

Book Review of Growth and Transformation of the Modern City

John Mullin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:33:05 PDT

The book consists of a group of papers developed for one of a series of symposia to celebrate the centennial birthday of the University of Stockholm. It was organized by the University's Departments of History, History of Art and Human Geography. Invitees included scholars from Sweden, Britain, Finland, Denmark and the United States.

The Economic Impact of Housing in Massachusetts

John Mullin et al. — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:53:05 PDT

Home building generates substantial local economic activity, including income, jobs, and revenue for state and local governments. These far exceed the school costs-to-property-tax ratios. Furthermore, balanced growth, the availability of homes that match the character of the jobs, plays a significant role in attracting sustainable economic development.