November 1997
Conference Examines Racial Attitudes, Housing, Employment Trends
A survey of more than 1,800 households in the greater Boston area, chronicling what residents think about race and ethnic issues, the economy and their place in it, where they choose to live and why, attitudes towards new immigrants, and more, has been published. "The Greater Boston Social Survey" (GBSS) was undertaken by a team of UMass Boston and UMass Lowell faculty and staff, including members from the McCormack, Trotter and Gaston Institutes, the Institute for Asian American Studies, and the Center for Survey Research.
The initial findings of the survey were presented at a conference, Greater Boston in Transition: Race, Ethnicity, and Economic Development on the Eve of the 21st Century, on October 28. House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt gave the keynote address to over 300 participants, representing the business community, charitable foundations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and social agencies.
Preliminary data produced by the study show that the greater Boston region is undergoing a "triple revolution" of demographic, industrial and spatial change, moving from a Eurocentric to multicultural population, from mill-based to "mind"-based industries, and from a "Hub" to a metropolis in terms of where people choose to live.
"We think we have fascinating results," says Prof. Barry Bluestone, coordinator of the study. "This survey gives us a new scan of what our communities look like and what their resources are." He adds that they have only scratched the surface of the enormous data collected, and that it will continue to be used as more questions are posed by government agencies, businesses and others, about trends in the Greater Boston region.
The GBSS was funded by grants from the Ford, Russell Sage, and Boston foundations. The conference was sponsored by the McCormack Institute, John F. Kennedy Library, Challenge to Leadership, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.