Spring 2010
Complete Issue

Contents (each article available in PDF)

• New England Fishing Communities: Prospects and Uncertainties
  by Robert J. Johnston, Daniel S. Holland, and Seth Tuler
  The authors describe the benefits and costs of new commercial fishing regulations designed to enhance the long-term viability of New England fishing.
• Mapping New England: Fishing-Related Industries
  by Kai-yan Lee, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
  Local fishing and related industries are seeing their historical prominence decline. The map shows where they remain strong in New England.
• Preventing Foreclosure Displacements
  by Becky Regan, Boston Community Capital
  A coalition of community advocates, legal aid organizations, lenders, and low-income residents is keeping foreclosed tenants in their homes and preventing neighborhood deterioration.
• Vermont Cultivates Community through Gardening
  by Jim Flint, Friends of Burlington Gardens
  Burlington Vermont’s community garden movement, among the first in the country, is teaching techniques for sustainability far beyond city limits.
• Preventing Urban Decay with Gardens
  by Matt Martin and Zachariah Starnik, Stockyard Redevelopment Organization
  Residents in a Cleveland neighborhood worked to keep vacant properties from becoming a magnet for illegal activities. Their gardens created a new food supply while building community.
• Training for Green Jobs
  by Sara Jade Pesek, Syracuse University
  The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus, provided funding for “green” jobs training programs. Organizations interested in participating can learn from people who have actually developed and implemented such programs.
• Why Few Lenders Are Modifying Loans
  by Paul Willen, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
  Lenders and servicers have modified fewer mortgage loans than expected. Research suggests that they prefer to wait and see because delinquencies often right themselves and some modified mortgages ultimately end in a more costly foreclosure.
• Your House or Your Credit Card?
  by Ethan Cohen-Cole, University of Maryland
  A new study shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, individuals will pay credit card bills even at the cost of mortgage delinquencies or foreclosures. The author elucidates the logic behind their thinking.
• Reimagining the Unbanked: Perspectives from South Africa
  by Daryl Collins, Bankable Frontier, and Jonathan Morduch, New York University
  Research in South Africa suggests that low-income families are often financially savvy—and that cash flow is their most pressing need, not savings or microlending vehicles. The insights can deepen understanding of the unbanked worldwide
• Fair and Cost-Effective Property Tax Relief
  by Daphne A. Kenyon, Ph.D., and Adam H. Langley
  In New England, which relies more heavily on the property tax for public services than other U.S. regions, many homeowners feel overburdened. When correctly applied, property tax circuit breakers can protect the most vulnerable.

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