Population growth in Boston and Massachusetts is driven by newcomer immigration from Asia, Latin and Central America and Africa, increasing the region’s racial and ethnic diversity and as a counterbalance to declining birthrates and out-migration among native Massachusetts residents.. According to the 2008 American Community Survey, nearly one-third of Bostonians were born outside of the US and reflecting long-term demographic trends, people of color now comprise more than 50% of Boston’s population (see Indicator 1.1.1). Birthrate and child population trends show that the region is poised to become more divers in the future: in Boston 70% of youth aged 14-17 are of color and statewide the percent of annual births to foreign-born women has more than doubled since 1989 while the total birthrate has declined 16% (see Indicator 7.5.1). However, people of color and newcomer immigrants are highly concentrated in Greater Boston’s “gateway” cities and inner-city communities while many suburban communities remain more than 95% white.
Declining revenues and budget deficits are constraining foundations’ and the Commonwealth’s support for nonprofits that nevertheless are seeking to meet the needs of an increasing number of individuals and families.The recession has created a “perfect storm” of declining public and private support at a time of increased need of individuals and families as well as the organizations that serve them. According to the report Passion and Purpose, the number of Massachusetts nonprofits has doubled over the last 18 years, outpacing the growth in financial support from foundations and government, leading to a sector that is underfunded and competing for limited resources. The recession has exacerbate this—with foundation assets down 20% and a state budget gap of up to $5 billion—at a time when demand for services is up dramatically (See Indicator 1.10.3).
Volunteerism rates in Greater Boston continue to rise. Despite or perhaps because of the recession, volunteerism in Boston and Massachusetts has skyrocketed since 2006. Volunteers in Boston logged a total of 109,338 hours of service in 2007 and 2008, according to Boston Cares, the largest and broadest coordinator of volunteer activities in Greater Boston (See Indicator 1.2.3).
The region continues to strengthen its “collaborative gene” through coherent local and regional strategies aimed at addressing the region’s key challenges.A recent study by the Boston Federal Reserve Bank found that collaborative leadership was the single most important factor driving the resurgence of cities over the last half-century, and Greater Boston has strengthened its civic glue through a host of new public-private collaborations and nonprofit partnerships (see Indicator 1.1.3). In addition to recent efforts such as the John LaWare Leadership Forum, Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative and the Mass Technology Leadership Council, new issue-specific mechanisms have emerged to address the youth violence, workforce diversity and climate change (see also the Civic Agenda).
Despite an increase in the number (and diversity) of candidates in recent Boston elections, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ranks lowest among all states in its percentage of contested elections. In 2008, 84% of Massachusetts’ legislative elections were uncontested, an increase from 73% in 2006 when then-Governor Mitt Romney successfully increased the number of Republican candidates but was unsuccessful in increasing the number of victors. (See Indicator 1.4.2).
The recession is delaying the “passing of the torch” to younger and more diverse leaders as Baby Boomers delay retirement. Boomers nearing retirement in Metro Boston, as elsewhere, saw the value their homes and retirement savings plummet in the recession, and many are being forced to remain in the workforce—and leadership arena—longer than expected. This “demographic displacement” may mean fewer opportunities for the region’s more racially and ethnically diverse “new leadership” to take the reigns of local organizations, public agencies and institutions (see Indicator 1.3).
Greater Boston’s business leadership continues to be largely white and male despite acknowledgement of the importance of diverse perspectives and rapidly changing demographics. In 2007, a survey of Globe 100 companies found that 96% of Board Directors were white, 2.2% were Asian, 1.6% African American and 0.4% Latino. In 2009, women represented little more than 10% of Directors of Massachusetts’ 100 largest companies, and women of color only 1.2%--percentages that have remained largely unchanged since 2003. (See the Civic Agenda’s Open & Dynamic Civic Culture.)
Neighborly trust is increasing throughout Boston’s neighborhoods. According to the Boston Public Health Commission, 81% of Bostonians surveyed in 2008 felt that residents are willing to help their neighbors and at least 70% of residents felt this level of trust in their own neighbors. The North End (94%), South Boston (93%) and Charlestown (91%) had the highest rates of neighborly trust while Roxbury (74%), North Dorchester (73%), and Mattapan (70%) had the lowest (see Indicator 8.4.1).
The housing market collapse is reversing gains made over the last decade in strengthening neighborhood stability and investment, with a disproportionate impact on neighborhoods and families of color. Boston’s inner city economy was bolstered by Small Business loans to women- and minority-owned businesses. A sharp decline in capital and lending has led to a slowing of investment in Boston’s neighborhoods, with the greatest impact on neighborhoods with the highest concentration of people of color and families in poverty. Between 2006 and 2008, Small Business Loans to enterprises in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan declined from 26% of total Boston lending to just 8%. Likewise, citywide foreclosures in Boston nearly doubled from 2007 to 2008, with more than two-thirds occurring in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan—threatening neighborhood stability with increasing rates of family and household mobility, vacancy rates and blight.
New technology is a double-edged sword for civic engagement, on the one hand, democratizing access to information and breaking down geographic boundaries; on the other, reducing face-to-face interactions and causing a decline in major newspaper circulations. Once innovative but now ubiquitous technologies like the Internet and iPod continue to create forums for the sharing of ideas. New media sources, like Twitter, allow new voices and opinions to be heard and are increasingly accepted by traditional media. Bostonians also now host and follow numerous blogs, forums and online services to find out what is going on in their neighborhoods, schools and areas of interest (see Indicator 1.8.2). Boston offers a host of opportunities for residents to access the internet and WiFi, including the Boston Public Library which provides free, public access at its 28 locations. (See also Technology.)
Newspapers— a major source of information traditionally –-are being squeezed by the recession in combination with new technologies, putting the region’s shared frames of reference and “civic glue” at risk. Boston remains one of the few US cities with two competing daily newspapers and ranked 6th among US media markets in Integrated Newspaper Audience, with 85% of adults reading either a print or online newspaper in March 2009. However, throughout the nation and the region, newspaper is declining with Greater Boston’s newspapers hit especially hard. With a nearly 40% decline in circulation between 1998 and 2009, The Boston Globe was named the nation’s 5th most-endangered newspaper. The Boston Herald has also experienced double-digit declining circulation (see Indicator 1.8.3).