A Time Like No Other: Charting the Course of the Next Revolution

2007, 57 pages. The Boston Foundation, 75 Arlington St., Boston, MA, 02116, (617) 338-1700, www.tbf.org
PDF online: www.bostonindicators.org

The fourth biennial Boston Indicators Report, published by the Boston Foundation, aims to democratize access to information, foster informed public discourse, track progress on shared civic goals, and examine change in ten sectors: civic vitality, cultural life and the arts, the economy, education, the environment, health, housing, public safety, technology and transportation. The report presents potential future city crises paired with potential city opportunities, and looks at global issues — such as population growth and global warming — relative to Boston.

Although the report is specific to Boston, many of the challenges that the city faces will be shared with other American cities in the future. The report urges Boston to act as a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts — to create breakthrough solutions to what ails the community and the global community, to value its most fragile resource: its children, to strengthen the social capital, and to engage in informed civic discussion.