New England Identity Resources

In the News

The Creative Economy
Today New England is learning the value of fully integrating arts and culture as a source of growth into economic-development agendas.
By Beate Becker, Communities & Banking, Spring 2006
Learning to Think and Act Like a Region
Planning across boundaries – or regional collaboration – is slowly emerging as an essential component of land policy and planning in the twenty-first century.
By Matthew McKinney and Kevin Essington, Land Lines: January 2006, Volume 18, Number 1
Forecast casts clouds over Maine's economy
Maine lost 200 jobs last year, and sluggish growth lies ahead, with Mainers being squeezed by slower-than-expected income growth and higher-than-expected prices.
By Edward D. Murphy, Portland Press Herald, February 16, 2006
"MEGALOPOLIS" Comes of Age
Major metro areas working together to plan their transportation futures and economic strategies.
By Neal Peirce, Washington Post Writers Group, July 17, 2005
New Local Food Scenario: Wave of the Future - or Chimera?
How you feel about food is how you feel about the world.
By Neal Peirce, Washington Post Writers Group, July 3, 2005
Metro Food Policy - Is the Time Ripe?
Is America ready for a metropolitan agriculture policy?
By Neal Peirce, Washington Post Writers Group, May 22, 2005
Collaborate or Collapse - Tough New England Message
Call it, if you will, the American way: thousands of tiny little governments, each with its own council.
By Neal Peirce, Washington Post Writers Group, April 17, 2005
Selling New England
With young, educated New Englanders leaving the region, Dobelle sees an opportunity for the region to develop a compelling brand strategy around its powerful base of colleges and universities that will enable New England to compete in the highly competitive global economy.
By Evan S. Dobelle for the Boston Globe, March 22, 2005
Main Street America
How can America's Main Street communities make it in fiercely competitive times that send factory jobs to Asia and white-collar work to big metro regions?
By Neal Peirce, Washington Post Writers Group, March 20, 2005
Boston Globe Op-Ed Series
Based on themes developed in Boston Unbound, the Citistates writers Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson prepared a special four-part series of Op-Eds for the Boston Globe editorial page, which ran in November and December 2004.
By Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson, Citistates Group, November and December 2004
The State of New England
This Spring 1999 issue features a variety of reports on the state of New England, including the results of the New England Survey, a major survey of how New Englanders view the region's agenda, and a mock debate for the Governor of New England.
Connection: New England's Journal of Higher Education, Spring 1999

Reports

Global Bioscience Clusters Map February 2006
Countries in color on the map rank highly in the Global Competitiveness Index 2004-2005, World Economic Forum.
Prepared by William Hoffman, MBBNet, University of Minnesota
Sustainable Prosperity: An Agenda for New England 2005
A comprehensive study of the New England economy designed to identify the region's strengths and weaknesses and to focus attention on those areas that require the immediate attention of public and private sector leaders.
Prepared by A.T. Kearney for The New England Council
The Encyclopedia of New England 2005
In entries written by leading authorities in the field, The Encyclopedia of New England presents a comprehensive view of this important region, past and present.
Edited by Burt Feintuch and David H. Watters. Foreword by Donald Hall. Published by Yale University Press.
Collaborate or Collapse - Tough New England Message April 17, 2005
Call it, if you will, the American way: thousands of tiny little governments, each with its own council, each in command of its own tax collector, police and fire chiefs, emergency call center, road crews, park and library staffs -- and more.
Article by journalist Neal Peirce
New England Survey Report 2004 [52KB]
A survey of the national perceptions of New England as viewed by the general population and business community.
Prepared by The University of Connecticut Center for Survey Research & Analysis for Team New England
Plan for Progress 2004
The Plan for Progress website details the 2004 Pioneer Valley Plan for Progress, which is a roadmap to the future for western Massachusetts. The plan identifies seven key issues and 13 strategic goals that are key to developing the region's strong, vibrant regional economy in a way that fosters sustainability, prosperity, and collaboration-and that attracts national recognition.
New England Reconnaissance Report Spring 2002
With support from the New England Council and other regional institutions, the Citistates team of journalists interviewed 112 people in New England in early 2002 to prepare this preliminary report on the strategic issues facing the region.
Prepared by the Citistates Group for The New England Council
Imagining New England: Explorations of Regional Identity from the Pilgrims to the Mid-Twentieth Century 2002
This ambitious book investigates New England as a cultural invention, tracing the region's changing identity across more than three centuries.
Authored by Joe Conforti. Published by University of North Carolina Press.
The Creative Economy Initiative June 2000 [2.6MB]
Exciting new research undertaken by The New England Council confirms what many have long believed to be true: that our arts and cultural activities have been and will continue to be integral to the economic health of New England.
Prepared by Mt. Auburn Associates for The New England Council

Data

Profile of New England 2005
The Profile of New England includes key economic indicators for the region, a look at the demographic composition of the population, a snapshot of New England's banking system, and a glimpse at government finance in the six states.
Prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
New England Economic Indicators Database 2005
The New England Economic Indicators database contains comprehensive historical data for all data published in the New England Economic Indicators monthly publication, as well as additional data. These data are available for the United States, New England as a whole, each of the six New England states, and, for some series, major New England metropolitan areas.
Prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
A Statistical Profile of New England’s Knowledge Corridor 2002
New England’s Knowledge Corridor is an integrated economic area that straddles the Massachusetts-Connecticut border in the Hartford-Springfield interstate region. This report provides a statistical profile of this region’s people, diversity, employment and economy.
Prepared by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission

Organizational Links

Center for New England Culture
The Center for New England Culture promotes understanding the region’s diverse culture and rich history, and it fosters an appreciation of the value of regional culture in contemporary American life.
Creative Economy Council
The Creative Economy Council is a partnership among leaders from New England's business, government, and cultural sectors that exists to promote the sustainable economic development of New England’s creative economy.
HIDDEN-TECH
HIDDEN-TECH is a rapidly growing group of 800-plus small, mainly home-based companies scattered throughout the Pioneer Valley in Western Mass who have come together to beat isolation, share business tips, find resources, create alliances, learn business skills and alert regional economic planners and technology service providers about our presence.
The Hartford-Springfield Economic Partnership
The Hartford-Springfield Economic Partnership was created in September 2000 by political, business and government leaders in the Greater Hartford and Greater Springfield region (referred to as the New England’s Knowledge Corridor) to advance the region's economy and quality of life. This was one of the first cross-boarder collaborative efforts of this kind.
National Charette Institute
This nonprofit educational institution helps people build community capacity for collaboration to create healthy community plans. They teach professionals and community leaders the art and science of Dynamic Planning, a holistic, collaborative planning process that harnesses the talents and energies of all interested parties to create and support a feasible plan. The Institute also advances the fields of community planning and public involvement through research and publications.
New England Association of Regional Councils
This organization was created to increase the effectiveness of regional councils throughout New England. Its mission is to strengthen the capability of local councils, to enhance the regional concept of planning and development, and to spark educational efforts for the general public, governmental agencies, and public and private organizations.
New England Council
The New England Council is the country’s oldest regional business organization. It is an alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private organizations throughout New England formed to promote economic growth and a high quality of life in the New England region.
New England Economic Partnership (NEEP)
The New England Economic Partnership (NEEP) is a member-supported, non-profit organization dedicated to providing objective economic analyses and forecasts.
The New England Governors Conference, Inc.
The New England Governors' Conference, an informal alliance since colonial days, was formally established in 1937 by the Governors of the six state region to promote New England's economic development.
New England Initiative at UMass-Lowell
Based at the Center for Industrial Competitiveness at UMass-Lowell, this newly-formed organization is headed by David Soule, former director of the Boston area Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The Initiative is assisting major regional groups research and address critical challenges shared across the six-state region.
New England Public Policy Center
The New England Public Policy Center, launched in 2005 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, is dedicated to improving the quality of analysis on the economic and policy issues that affect the region.
Northeastern Economic Developers Association (NEDA)
The Northeastern Economic Developers Association (NEDA) was formed in 1956 to promote economic and industrial development in the Northeastern region of the United States.
Team New England Website
The official website of the New England states provides vital links to the New England region's rich economic development, international trade, and tourism resources.

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