Left In Lowell

Professor Robert Forrant Comments on Globe Article

by Mimi at 9:50 am.

In response to the discussion that took place on this blog regarding the Sunday Boston Globe article on Lowell’s renaissance as a model for urban planning, Prof. Forrant, of U. Mass Lowell, who was extensively quoted in that Globe article has submitted this post.

[Bumped. This is why I like blogs. Thanks, Mimi, for posting this response from Professor Forrant.]

LIL, I am very glad that the ‘Lowell Miracle’ article in the Boston Globe prompted discussion on social and economic development in the city. And, for the record, it takes only about 20 minutes to walk down Broadway from UML’s South Campus to Brew’d Awakening. For all of these plugs Andy should give me free coffee for the rest of 2007. Once students get there or other places in Lowell I encourage them to go, they return again and again. And, the safety issue walking downtown is something to fix, not a reason to give up on linking UML and the d’town.

When I was asked by the Globe reporter to comment on how things were going I knew I risked being misquoted or half quoted and in this particular case I was quoted correctly, but only part of what I said made it; the rest is on the cutting room floor! It is surprising to me that some LIL readers and regular bloggers are upset with the 2 Lowell point I made. I made the same point on at least three separate occasions in the monthly essays I write for The Sun and not a peep. Maybe it is the Globe that matters as the paper of record – I don’t think so.

There is no question but that the mill spaces that are now condos were never going to see thousands of jobs in them again. However, if you check out the Wannalancit Mill building it is not occupied by condos but by numerous start-up high tech, biotech, software and other research firms employing hundreds of people. This is a good thing. My point was never to denigrate what took place in the last twenty-five or so years. Instead, I want folks to consider that the condo thing and the highly successful and awfully exciting arts scene are not enough to help lift all boats throughout the city.

I love the Spinners and UML hockey and go to every game I possibly can. These are things I really like about the city. But, does anyone think for one minute, that a workers at any of these events can raise a family on the wages made selling popcorn, beer and hotdogs?

I’ve been saying for a while that the trick to making things work here in Lowell is that we must have the same energy and passion for the city that focuses on arts and entertainment—that makes elephants weep and on the roads come alive at Olive That and More—look to long-term economic development/job creation. The city can make a difference as the effort in communities across the country demonstrates. What has happened here is extraordinary; my point is that it is not yet enough and it is not time to look the other way about the poverty problem in the city. Of course, a lot of it has to do with Lowell’s being an immigrant city. But, we want to call ourselves an immigrant city and employ the history as a touchstone for tourism, folk festivals, and ethnic festivals in the summer. And, that’s terrific. But the festivals will never erase the more protracted poverty problem, nor do the festivals or the ball field and arena for that matter, create the sorts of moderately well paying jobs needed to sustain working families across not just Lowell but the Merrimack River Valley. This is not Lowell’s issue alone – but Lowell is to me the flagship city here and it needs to lead the way in creating the institutions we need to solve the problem.

My employer, UMass Lowell, needs to step up to the plate here as well.

This has to happen so that folks who have lived here for generations can afford to continue to live here, not lose their home, and not see their college-educated children run away like earlier jobs did to the south and southwest. Foreclosures around here are at record highs and the region is losing its college-educated young people at dangerously high numbers. Wishing it were not so, will not stop both of these trends.

Whether we like the metaphor or not, there are indeed 2 Lowells - and wishing this situation away is not helpful. I live here, work here, go to as many galleries and cultural events as I can, sit on the board of one of the museums, am on the city’s task force to fight homelessness, and always encourage my students to go downtown as much as they can. But, we need a Cultural Organization of Lowell-like partnership that works on the job front in the same determined way that LZ Nunn works on the culture front. UML and MCC need to focus a good deal of their energy on figuring out with city leaders and residents where future good jobs are going to come from. The city needs to extend business services and assistance to every corner of Lowell, to where the new immigrant-owned businesses are. In fact, absent these ‘newcomer enterprises’ there would not be a lot for new business activity here at all.

I hope the Globe article stimulates a lot of people who care about Lowell (and I am one of them) to voice their opinions on this issue, one central to the future of the city. The city’s economic well being is greater than the opening of another nice restaurant downtown, even though I do love it when this takes place.

Professor Robert Forrant
Dept. of Regional Economic and Social Development
500 O’Leary Library
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Lowell, MA 01854

[Filed under Local politics, Local Business] [link]

21 Responses to “Professor Robert Forrant Comments on Globe Article”

Fran McDougall Says:
September 11th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I get it. There aren’t jobs in Lowell to sustain a middleclass working family, or even the type of job that could raise a family above the poverty level. We all understand that. My question is this. What jobs would work in this city to fulfill those needs? We can moan and groan about the injustice of it all but does anyone know the answer? Have certain job markets in this country been able to exist in this environment and make living in an old mill city productive?
Mr. Lynne Says:
September 11th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Motorola is certainly a help. I’m guessing the Nano center will help too. Target and Lowes?.. not so much… at least on the you-can-live-in-Lowell-and-raise-your-kids jobs side.
waittilnextyr Says:
September 11th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Oh, but there are those jobs, just not enough of them for a city of over 100,000, and for a base for all the surrounding “bedroom” communities. As pointed out, Motorola is one source, and there are certainly others within Cross Pointe. Konarka is another, although they apparently are entering an outsourcing agreement with a Southeast Asia company. There is a software company near Cross Pointe that is being absorbed into a West Coast company, which could be bad, or an opportunity for further growth. And, as pointed out, spin-offs from the UML Nano center are a distinct possibility. And what about banks, financial institutions, publishers and insurance companies? Could Lowell not be their corporate headquarters?

So what can the city, its citizens, and even the State do to make the best of these impending opportunities?
1. Allocate prime space - do not commit the HCD to predominant housing.
2. Improve and Tailor Education - coordination between all educational institutions and workforce development.
3. Improve access - and the State could help here with the integration of the HCD with public transportation.
4. Provide an attractive quality of life - not only the entertainment and restaurant venues that it has, but elimination of the detrimental factors loke gangs, drugs and trash.

It appears that the new Chancellor of UML is well-suited to a partnership with the city. The current City Manager appears well-suited to engaging a complex task. The Nano-tech center is on track, but a coordinated business plan must evolve with it.

All said, there is no silver bullet, but a lot of complementary actions required.
workin' stiff Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Why does this article, and the good Prof, put so much importance on having jobs in Lowell for the residents of Lowell? Long gone are the days of living in company-owned housing near your factory. You get in your car, or hop on a train or bus, and go to where the employment is. Granted commercial entities shoulder a higher tax rate, which is great for the community, but from a quality-of-life perspective it doesn’t matter where I need to drive to to get paid. What I want in a home town is low crime, good schools, services and infrastructure, and nearby entertainment and retail. Lowell has all that in spades.

Regarding the huddled masses of immigrants who end up in our community: the Crosspoint’s, Wannalancit’s, and Nanotech centers provide no opportunities for them. The majority of jobs created in these companies are for highly educated and specialized people. The ballpark and Target store jobs are more in line with what’s needed to employ unskilled labor. I agree that these jobs don’t pay enough to support the lifestyle that you or I may be accustomed to, but I’d bet it’s a lot better than what they left behind in their home country. Work hard, struggle, try to ensure your children and their children are a little better off. Every generation of immigrants came here under the same conditions.
concerned Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Fran,
Still waiting on your feedback regarding the Chelmsford Ambulance contract. Could it be that your friend Chemaly may have gotten caught in a lie? Fran I hope your never in need of an ambulance from Saints Memorial to anywhere….you do know that patients are forbiden to call anyone other than Trinity right? Look into it….My aunt just got saddled w/ a huge bill from them because she was told that she could not use an alternative provider even though there are other companies charging way less….sounds illegal to me? Maybe someone should look into this….Lowell Sun are you listening?
Mimi Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Concerned:

Your comments may or may not be valid. However, you cannot parachute in to this site and be full of accusations. Please refrain from personal attacks. First of all, this is not the post to discuss the Chelmsford Ambulance issue, it is on another post.

Second, I still do not know why it is advantages for a town to take on more responsibility, and to increase their budget in order to provide a service. You have not made your case. The largest increase in cost for any municipal budget is healthcare, pension, benefits and salaries for their employees.

It is killing the state of Massachusetts.
joe Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Employment is not a local issue, and hasn’t been for three or four generations now. Lowell’s poorer residents don’t lack opportunity because of the economic situation in Lowell, but because of the economic situation in Eastern Massachusetts.

There are improvements that can be made at the margins - better transit service, revitalizing neighborhood commercial centers - but creating jobs in Lowell does not translate very directly to eradicating poverty.
joe Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
And that’s why the comparisons to Dubuque and Louisville in the article are off-base.

Those cities are the largest (only, actually) urban centers in their regions, as well as their regions’ economic engines. Not so for Lowell.

The job revitalization those cities are pursuing isn’t needed here, because there are tons of jobs in and about Lowell. We’re already a very attractive location for business, both the city and the region.
Right in Lowell Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
“Right” on Fran!

The discussion sounds like a lot of scholarly gobble-dy-gook without any rock-solid solutions. What’s your plan, professor? These projects that you say “are not enough” are at least something. Yes, we’d all love a gigantic company to swoop in here and provided us the economic engine to make all Lowellians wealthy. But guess what? We’ve been waiting for that for decades, and it still hasn’t come. That doesn’t mean we stop trying, but in the meantime, let’s not minimize the impact of those institutions that have already come here and are doing their part to help the community. Of course a person can’t support a family on Spinners salaries. But guess what, that low income household that needs every penny at least has a place their child can work during the summer months to help contribute to household income.

Also, exactly who is “looking the other way” regarding the poverty problem? When you make a statement like that, you insinuate that leaders aren’t trying, or worse, don’t care to solve a problem. News flash for you; poverty has been a problem in this country for centuries, billions of dollars have been poured into the issue trying to solve it, to no avail. People are still working to solve it, but probably never will. That doesn’t mean all that’s been accomplished is meaningless.

These issues you want discussed ARE being discussed and HAVE BEEN discussed in Lowell, ad nauseum. Perhaps we don’t have all the answers yet, and we may never have them. Perhaps they’re unanswerable. But at least we try. And if we didn’t at least have all these things that you pooh-pooh in your commentaries, we’d be Lawrence. I’m sure you’d like that even less.
concerned Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Mimi
First off, let me start by saying I find your remarks about “personal attacks” to be very hypocritical. Judging by some of the previous LIL posts, you do just that, I guess it just depends on who the “target” is. The only reason I posted my comments on this thread were to give Fran the benefit of the doubt that she might not have seen my comments yesterday, given that the Ambulance post is now on the second page.
As far as the Ambulance contract goes, I’m not exactly sure yet what is best for the town of Chelmsford. (I am anxious to see what happens at tomorrow night’s meeting). My concern is with the current provider and his ludicrous prices and the monopoly that he has created in this area. Mandating patients on who to “choose” at a local hospital is not good practice, especially since a majority of them are elderly and on a fixed income. Don’t you agree that the patients should have a choice? I agree, that maybe this is not the proper forum to address it, but I have called the local newspaper and due to strong friendships, it was never addressed. From what I have read here in the past, this seems to be a site focused on transparency and fairness, and the patients I’m referring to are not being treated fairly. Make a phone call, ask around, I think you will see what I mean. Ohhh…and feel free to post your comments where they “belong.”
Mimi Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Concerned:

What I was referring to was your appearance on this blog to slam someone. I do agree that some comments on LiL are of personal nature, but the are done by long time contributors who have established an identity and a track record. Thus, the reader can determine the validity or veracity of the comment based on the history of the individual. By the way, I do not think I have ever used this forum to personally attack someone; yes I have commented on public policy and elected officials decisions and actions but I do not think I have attacked anyone personally. If I have, I do apologize, that is not my intention.
Fran McDougall Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Posting my concerns on this forum seems to be a concern to some concerned citizens. As a concerned resident of Chelmsford when a concerning topic is posted and I have a concerned opinion concerning those concerns, I will send them to you other concerned bloggers.
My name is Fran McDougall and I approve this message.
frustrated Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 12:27 am
Fran,
Either you’ve forgotten the rules of basic english or you’ve been drinking! LOL!
Proud Townie Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 1:28 am
I am confused because it seems to me that this is all about protecting John Chemaly’s contract with the Town of Chelmsford. And, I would guess, this may force the issue in the city of Lowell too…….When we hire a private contractor, where is the tranparency? Do we get to see Chemaly’s balance sheet? What about the issues raised by “concerned” ( above)…….If Chemaly is fighting so hard to maintain this contract, it makes me wonder: Could the Town of Chelmsford be making the profit he has been making on the backs of Chelnsford citizens? I have heard that his fees are exorbitant! And we want to grant him a monopoly!!!!!……To me, this all smacks of special interests, backroom deals and other shady dealings…..
Fran McDougall Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Guess you didn’t get it. Just a light hearted response to whoever it is that’s “concerned” about my opinion on the ambulance. A stand up comic I will never be!
frustrated Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Fran,
I got it! I was joking too. All joking aside, sounds like there are some serious issues to look at. I hope you are able to seperate your friendship w/ Chemaly to do what’s best for the town of Chelmsford. Judging from some of the accusations on this blog, it appears as though your friend may not be as “nice” as you think. Money and power corrupt. Looks like we’re seeing that!
chelmgirl2 Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Fran- although I can appreciate your honesty with this issue I can’t help but question whether or not you have really looked at it from both sides…it appears your personal relationship with Mr C continues to cloud your judgement. Please remember your responsibilities here as OUR elected town meeting rep. Insiders tell me Mr C has had a monopoly over the local ambulance industry for decades and now has some spirited competition from both the fire service and other private providers who have realized certain profits in this industry. Mr C wouldn’t be fighting this so intensely if he wasn’t making a ton of money off it…but according to him his current town dedicated ambulance doesn’t make him any $$$, sure it doesn’t! Competition is good…it drives down prices and creates a better product. Its that type of competition that has served this country so well. What you really need to ask is….what is driving Mr C here…greed and money! “Frustrated” appears to understand this well. Its amazing how nice of a guy you become when your making millions and have no competition. He isn’t looking as nice and as honest as most people previously thought of him huh?? According to some town officials the presentation he made was more “fiction than fact”…”Concerned” also makes some pretty intense accusations regarding a Lowell hospital and the inability to choose who transports you from there…doesn’t seem legal in this day and age??? Does it?? Its amazing what the good ole boy network will get you sometimes huh…??
frustrated Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Mimi,
In anticipation of tonight’s meeting can you give us a new thread on this topic?
frustrated Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Mimi
Is that a “no?” I thought you would be all over this? You girls usually love this stuff! Come on…..There are more GOB’s out there.
Mimi Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Frustrated:

I am angry that you and Chelmgirl2 have “hijacked” this post. I wanted THIS discussion to be about the economic situation in Lowell and you derailed it. I am still waiting for someone to give me numbers, facts and information as to why it is in the best interest of Chelmsford to bring this service in house. I do not know what your motivation is but I have my concerns.
reportedo Says:
October 16th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
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September 12, 2007

Professor Robert Forrant Comments on Globe Article

21 Responses to “Professor Robert Forrant Comments on Globe Article”

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