About FutureBoston

FutureBoston, convened by State Street Corp. and MIT, is a multi-year civic dialog -- online and in person -- aimed at developing recommendations and proposals for enhancing Boston's competitive edge in an increasingly globalized world. It focuses on three major areas: Health, Design, and Sustainability.

Project launched Oct. 9, 2007

The project launched on Oct. 9, 2007, with the first in a series of televised programs on WCVB-TV's award-winning "Chronicle" program exploring the lessons Boston can learn from the successful strategies employed in cities around the globe. The schedule is as follows:

• Oct. 9, 2007: Dublin, Ireland
• Oct. 16, 2007: Vancouver, Canada
• Oct. 23, 2007: Portland, Ore.
• Oct. 30, 2007: Seoul, South Korea

The heart of the project is three IdeaJams, one focused on each of the three main challenge areas. These symposium include an online collaboration, and a face-to-face event where the best ideas are discussed and voted on. The IdeaJams will be held in the first half of 2008:

• Feb. 14, 2008: The HealthBoston IdeaJam will discuss how Boston can become a national test-bed for delivering better health care to its citizens based on new services over high-speed wireless in the "post-Internet" era.
• March 13, 2008: The DesignBoston IdeaJam will consider what innovative development patterns can give new form to Boston's landscape and skyline to promote economic development, and make Boston one of the most livable and affordable cities in the nation for families and singles alike.
• May 1, 2008: The SustainableBoston IdeaJam will discuss how metropolitan Boston can serve as a national laboratory for new energy policies that promoting affordable transportation and housing and enhance the region's quality of life.

"Our goal with this project is to spark a worldwide interactive dialog on how to engage Boston's intellectual and cultural institutions, and to illustrate the significance of the research university to the economic life of the Boston region," said Phillip Clay, MIT chancellor and professor of urban studies.

FutureBoston activities in 2007 culminate in the FutureBoston Forum, televised live from MIT on Thursday, May 29, 2008, where a national panel will present its recommendations for the future of Boston.

FutureBoston is the fifth in a series of major events focused on the future of Boston, convened by MIT over the last 23 years. In each project, MIT helped reshape the face of Boston, from the real estate boom in the 1980s to reclamation of the land above the Central Artery in 2002.