Mayor Marty Walsh delivered his first State of the City address Tuesday night, delivering an emphatic note to the people of Boston.

“I’m pleased to report that the state of our city is strong, and getting stronger,” Walsh said. “Our economy is flourishing, and many more people are working … As Boston approaches its 400th birthday, our goal is a thriving, healthy and innovative city for all – one community that is a global leader for the 21st Century.”

With Bostonians less than a week removed from the United States Olympic Committee’s decision to endorse the Hub’s 2024 Olympic bid, Walsh’s opening remarks, one could argue, directly reinforced the common rhetoric being driven home by Olympic supporters – that Boston can be a world-class city, and hosting the Games would serve as the catalyst for necessary changes.

Given the resume Walsh has put together over the course of a little more than a year in office, however, his remarks on forward-thinking and planning for Boston’s future stressed a much more tangible topic: If Boston does, indeed, desire to call itself a global leader, the way to ensure that happens is through investments in innovation, creating opportunities for new business and ideas, and providing the proper amount of resources necessary to sustain a world-class city.

Here are 5 Takeaways from Mayor Walsh’s State of the City:

1. ParkBoston
With recent reports that Boston’s hectic parking landscape could be functioning worse than ever, the mayor made sure to tout the value of ParkBoston, a new mobile app that allows drivers to pay for the meter on their smart phones.

Related: ParkBoston: You No Longer Need Quarters to Feed Your Parking Meter

2. StartHub
Though some would disagree, the general sentiment regarding Boston is that it has firmly established itself as the East Coast Silicon Valley. To “unify,” “bolster,” and “market” Boston’s startup scene across the globe, Walsh said that this year the city will launch StartHub to support entrepreneurs starting and growing their business in this city. To ensure businesses receive support, Walsh plans to tap a “Startup Czar” as official overseer, and create a cross-departmental, citywide office of analytics to “bring the power of big data to city services and operations.”

 

3. Housing
Walsh touched on his affordable housing report from October, reminding the city that the goal is, by 2030, to add 53,000 new units of affordable housing to support an estimated increase of 91,000 Boston residents. The mayor said the city plans to make 250 city-owned parcels available for development through the Neighborhood Homes initiative, and Main Street Makeovers – which would include targeted public space upgrades, additional help to solve the student housing crisis and relieve high rents – will be launched, starting with the Bowdoin-Geneva area of Dorchester and Grove Hall in Roxbury.

To spur development, Walsh suggested tax breaks for developers of middle-income and workforce housing.

4. Infrastructure Improvements
The Boston Redevelopment Authority, the BTDComprehensive Main Street Planning, Walsh said, will be tasked with completing a physical plan for identified districts, which would include potential “up-zoning” in targeted areas, allowing for increased mixed-use development. Once the physical plan is completed, the Department of Public Works will oversee work on suggested improvements, including potential sidewalk and street signage upgrades, and public Wi-Fi.

5. Education
Boston is still absent a superintendent of the public school system; Walsh said that should soon change, stating that he will name finalists for the job in the coming months. Additionally, with the city unable to secure funding for new school projects in the past, Walsh said he plans to create a Boston School Building Authority to tap into available money streams.


Stressing the need for students to be given a pathway to success, Walsh announced a new partnership with global software company SAP “to create a high-tech pipeline for students from Charlestown High School, connecting them with Bunker Hill Community College and job placements.”

Photo by Nick Deluca, who contributed to this report.

A parking app, a "Startup Czar" and a push for increased global recognition.
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