On a chilly Tuesday afternoon, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh along with constituent mayors of neighboring cities announced a rebranding of the area spanning from Braintree to Somerville along the MBTA’s Red Line as the Life Sciences Corridor.
The partnership between Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Quincy and Braintree represents a collaborative approach to regional innovation in order to create jobs, promote the area and foster creativity. The announcement was made aptly at the Museum of Sciences straddling the border between Boston and Cambridge.
Since 2008, life sciences has been the sector with the largest job creation and economic growth for the Greater Boston Area. The Red Line acts as the backbone for the area, helping to share and augment innovation, education and socioeconomics with all of those in close proximity and beyond.
As stated by Mayor Walsh, “universities gain new career pathways and new funding sources,” while prospective businesses and next-generation industries can take advantage of “an unparalleled ecosystem for space, funding, talent and culture.”
Within the five cities are rooted some 460 life sciences companies that, with the help of the initiatives and the collective clout from Mayors Walsh, David Maher of Cambridge, Thomas Koch of Quincy, Joseph Curatone of Somerville, and Joseph C. Sullivan of Braintree, will benefit exponentially.
According to the Boston Globe, this kind of regionalism is something Boston in particular is unaccustomed to, at least spanning the last two decades. Under the 20-year tutelage of Mayor Tom Menino, writes the Globe, “the city took a Boston-first approach toward businesses seeking to relocate, expand, or establish a presence in the region.”
By spanning collaboration outwards, Boston will now be able to reap the benefits afforded by those 460 companies, over 300 of which call Cambridge home.
“Our cities alone perform quite well, but collaboratively, we will continue to transform the economic prospects for the life sciences sector of the Greater Boston region,” added Mayor Walsh. “This partnership will have immediate impacts on business development and institutional growth, and ensure the region remains an economic engine for the Commonwealth, and a top location for cutting-edge research.”
Image via Shutterstock
