From Boston's cobbled streets to Fall River's docks, Massachusetts offers much for visitors. Experience this state known for clam chowder, eclectic accents, and cutting-edge innovation.
Winifred Barr Rothenberg presents an alternative view of pre-industrial New England village economics by showing that market integration led to farm expansion and an improvement in agricultural production that gave birth to America's initial industrial revolution.
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was an era of technological innovation that dramatically altered how people worked, produced, and lived. Beginning in Britain during the 1700s and 1800s, its impact spread throughout the world via mechanized farming, manufacturing processes that generated energy from coal, steel, and electricity sources, mechanization in farming operations, mechanized harvesting methods for farms, and new industries such as coal mining, steel production, and electrical grid development.
This new technology also enabled inventions like the cotton gin, steam engine, and assembly line, as well as urbanization where people moved from farms to cities for higher wages at factories than farming could offer them. Unfortunately, however, there was also pollution and poor working conditions within factories, often leading to people contracting illnesses caused by toxic chemicals in the environment - often fatalities due to illness from chemicals used within factories themselves.
Another result of the Industrial Revolution was that it enabled easier travel through the construction of roads, canals, railroads, and bridges. This also helped people trade more easily while expanding their business.
Science also saw major advancements during this era, as scientists could more freely experiment. This led to many medical firsts and improvements, like the discovery of ether in 1811 which improved mental health care while simultaneously inspiring state hospitals such as Mclean Hospital and Danvers State Hospital to be established in Massachusetts.
Lowell mill towns provided women a place outside the home where they could participate in reform movements that drew on republican traditions, rationalist values, and religious traditions to influence this effort. Mill towns offered women opportunities for collective experience outside their homes through collective experiences like antislavery campaigns or peace campaigns as well as women's rights movements - Lowell being one such town that provided this avenue.
The second Industrial Revolution occurred a century later and was propelled by oil, gas, and electricity; steel production increased along with chemical products; communication technology such as the telegraph and telephone was improved upon greatly; we are currently living through a fourth Industrial Revolution that's marked by digitalization and artificial intelligence-powered business practices.
The Mill Towns
Resurgent small-town centers demonstrate how technology is disrupting traditional industries across America and offer a glimpse of what America's future cities could look like.
Slater's mill inspired other entrepreneurs to invest in industrial ventures, and by 1807 thirteen textile mills were operating in Rhode Island and Massachusetts - most turning out woolen goods but some producing cotton cloth. President Jefferson's imposition of an embargo against British products early 1809 further encouraged New England merchants to invest in textile production; by 1812 more than seventy-eight mills had come online across rural New England towns.
By the mid-1820s, cotton spinning and weaving had become major industries in Lowell. At that time, Boston Associates created America's first large-scale factory town and adopted Lowell's model of centralizing tasks under one roof; quickly it spread throughout textile manufacturers throughout the nation.
As mills expanded, they attracted people from across Massachusetts and the nation. Workers with various skillsets were hired, with Boston Associates frequently recruiting young women - known as Lowell girls - who earned more than male factory workers while also gaining valuable work experience prior to marriage.
Though some workers resented this transition, most welcomed it with open arms. Mill towns flourished thanks to this influx of people. Furthermore, women and children found opportunities that did not exist within traditional farm towns.
Now, buildings that once housed workers tying and rolling thread or toiling over mechanical looms are home to tech company offices and college classrooms - an example of how an area can change its economic fortunes is seen through Lowell and other New England mill towns' revitalization.
Some economists have raised concern that our nation has become too focused on certain metro areas and has left others behind. According to them, having a robust national economy with strong regional centers would be most effective and revitalized Lowell and its sister cities could serve as examples for other similar centers across the nation.
The Tech Hubs
Due to this dynamic, America's new industrial geography is changing. Instead of being limited to coastal centers where many tech companies reside, once smaller industrial cities like Wilmington and Columbus are now leading in technological innovation with hubs emerging elsewhere - something Steve Case refers to as "the rise of the rest," having a profound effect on economic activity across the board.
Faced with these forces, EDA's Tech Hubs NOFO makes it abundantly clear that place-oriented economic development must become a national priority and underscores how regional consortia can help address America's grand challenges.
The Tech Hubs NOFO invites regional consortiums to apply for strategy grants to develop Tech Hubs in specific technology focus areas. Successful applicants must show they possess the resources, capacity, and infrastructure required for becoming globally competitive within ten years, along with an expansion pipeline capable of meeting market goals.
Tech Hubs represent an ambitious endeavor; to maximize their full potential will require significant human capital investments. Furthermore, the NOFO explicitly calls for these Tech Hubs to include key knowledge-based industries (KTFAs), defined by EDA as those which "enhance national competitive advantage and leadership in global economy".
A Tech Hub requires an effective collaboration among universities, research organizations, businesses and government agencies with an established language and vision surrounding technology-related workforce needs. Lightcast's skills data and occupation taxonomy ensure all members can communicate clearly when discussing tech talent needs to create an efficient pipeline capable of meeting market goals in an expedient fashion.
As part of its NOFO application process, NOFO encourages applications from regions with diverse technological capabilities in targeted technology areas. This will ensure that Tech Hubs not only support local economic development efforts but are truly part of a nationwide effort to invest in regional growth and create a stronger economy for all.
The Future
Gateway Cities across Massachusetts continue to experience dramatic transformation, and MassINC credits affordable housing, infrastructure that supports growth and a young and upwardly mobile workforce as reasons why these communities are flourishing. As space in Boston, Cambridge and Route 128 becomes ever more costly, these gateway cities could play a vital role in fueling Massachusetts innovation economy.
When tech company ARM opened its first US facility in New Bedford's millyard in 2018, its founder Tom Parker took an enormous risk. Instead of creating an iconic office building that would draw the world's top tech firms to visit it, his goal was to establish an environment in which his company and employees could flourish.
Parker set out to create an environment of innovation and collaboration that promoted rapid growth in a city filled with disruptors. And his plan has paid off; within just years, his business grew from initially five employees to over 200 workers.
Success of this nature is rare in startup technology firms, where employees seek a sense of community. That's one reason many of these firms choose old mill districts for their headquarters; they hope to become part of an ecosystem where people can interact freely while growing their businesses together.
As our state continues to face climate change, it will become essential for companies and communities alike to develop a variety of clean energy technologies - specifically switching away from natural gas, which accounts for the majority of climate changing emissions in our region. New reports by investor-owned gas utilities offer roadmaps for revitalizing this sector.
But if these plans fail and we fail to invest in clean energy alternatives soon enough, our ambitious climate emission goals may never be met. That is why AFT is encouraging Governor Snyder to raise our state's gas tax as part of a comprehensive clean energy strategy that includes reinventing youth employment opportunities, increasing local transit funding, and growing Community Career Center networks.
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