"You need to go beyond the Innovation District," argued Boston Mayor Marty Walsh Thursday, standing on the main stage at BostInno's State of Innovation Forum, held in the heart of the very neighborhood he was referencing.
"We want to bring innovation and opportunity to every neighborhood in Boston," Walsh said, hinting at the importance of the aptly-named Wicked Free Wi-Fi, the city's new, free public Wi-Fi network, as well as the latest high-tech accelerator, dubbed Smarter in the City, which just moved its first cohort of startups into Dudley Square.
The mayor's goal is to foster startup activity and drive economic growth in neighborhoods outside of Boston's budding Seaport. He wants to see innovation permeate Dorchester, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Mattapan, so they, too, can be known as tech hubs in the Greater Boston area.
The third CollegeThinkTank, set to be held at MassChallenge on Saturday, June 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will help Walsh achieve just that.
The mayor addressed the initiative at State of Innovation, which is co-sponsored by Wentworth's Accelerate, Innovation + Entrepreneurship Center and the City of Boston's Office of Business Development. Together, they will be gathering roughly 100 college students from 20 different schools to discover how Boston can support the growth of incubators and accelerators in neighborhoods outside of the standard Innovation District.
With the help of local college students, Boston has already started crowdsourcing how to fill vacant storefronts in Upham's Corner and Grove Hall. Later this summer, the City will be hosting a hackathon, according to Walsh, to develop ways to change the permitting process. What's more, the City is creating a platform, led by the Chief of Economic Development John Barros, that the startup community can come together on.
The one problem? That platform still needs a name.
"We've always been a city of ideas and research, democracy and community," Walsh said. "Now, more than ever, we're bringing these strengths together. … This is the spirit of innovation, and it's transforming our economy."
But innovation is also transforming how Boston is run.
Walsh reminisced on a recent trip he took to New York City, where he met with former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former United States President Bill Clinton. It was in Bloomberg's office he spotted a dashboard that he wanted to bring back with him to Boston. Now, in his office, Walsh can see how many calls have come into City Hall, how many children were absent in school and how many potholes need to be filled, among other metrics.
"The future of the city government is also through innovation and technology," Walsh noted.
As we, collectively, continue to innovate, however, we need to serve as cheerleaders for Boston. Walsh assured the City will continue to serve as startups' main marketer, noting, "City government isn't just about solving problems."
"You are important for the future of our city," Walsh said. "And we will do everything we can in City Hall to make sure you have everything you need to be successful."
