12 Charting Change in Cambridge’s Future Sparking an animated conversation were (from left) Randy Albelda, professor of Economics and senior research fellow at UMass/Boston; Barry Bluestone, senior fellow at the Boston Foundation and founding director of the Dukakis Center at Northeastern University; Ronald Ferguson, senior lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and Moacir Barbosa, director of community engagement at Health Resources in Action in Boston. Moderator was State Rep. Marjorie Decker (inset). She drew on her personal story growing up in public housing with deep roots in a changing Cambridge. Photos by Romana Vysatova. What the numbers indicate about our city Cambridge is changing at a dizzying pace, as new construction reflects a dynamic local economy. The new Cambridge will look different. Will it lose a distinctiveness built on racial, ethnic and cultural richness? Will our city keep its historic commitment to social justice? At Cambridge’s community foundation, committed to the well-being of the entire community, a study published this year explored those key questions. Called Boomtown/Hometown: What the numbers say about income, housing and education in Cambridge today, the publication focuses on trends shaping our city’s future: increasing income inequality, rapidly rising housing costs and persistent educational disparities. The Foundation introduced the publication at the Charles Hotel on March 1, before an overflowing crowd. A panel, facilitated by State Rep. Marjorie Decker, included as discussion leaders Economist Randy Albelda of UMass-Boston; Moacir Barbosa of Health Resources in Action (now a board member of Cambridge Community Foundation); Economist and former Northeastern University Professor of political economy Barry Bluestone; and Ronald Ferguson, of the Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard. The panelists stressed the impact of income inequality. To underscore his point about the trend, Professor Bluestone noted that the number of millionaires in Cambridge had doubled between 2004 and 2014. Commenting on Rep. Decker’s personal story of growing up in public housing and becoming a state representative, Moacir Barbosa noted that sense of open-ended possibility now seems fleeting. “The engine of opportunity that the city once was is going—or gone,” he said. Publications like Boomtown/Hometown and gatherings such as the one at the Charles reflect the Foundation’s commitment to civic leadership: partnering with City Hall and the city’s many nonprofit organizations to respond to present needs, while independently study- ing the community, defining key trends drawing on Cambridge’s intellectual capital, convening community leaders, and setting the agenda for the community’s future.