New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
This topic of improving the community is something that has been discussed throughout the history of New Bedford. The city has gone through a lot and more so than the average U.S. city. What is amazing about New Bedford is its ability to adapt in rough times and still progress. It has proven this a few times in our history and one of a few places that can proudly lay claim to this. Not many cities can say they were progressive and forward thinking in their times. In this era, the city was known around the world to offer opportunities. Just like San Francisco with its Gold Rush or Detroit in its Motor era, New Bedford has a special spot in U.S. History. Most of us locals already know this.
Of course, we all know this did not last forever…nothing ever does. Maybe the earth will, if we clean up our act!
So as we began the 20th Century, the whaling industry was in decline and everyone knew this was no longer a sustainable energy source. We depleted the whale population to a point that the few remaining captains were hanging on by a thread, risking their lives even more as the trips were longer and more extreme. They were desperate and no longer able to produce large harvests and fish in the nearby Atlantic. We were now looking in far off waters near the Arctic and other grounds.
Most of the U.S. was discovering itself as immigrants flocked here from all parts of the world. Their hope for New Bedford is that they would find work. As they found Whaling was no longer a dependable job, we got in a stagnant era in New Bedford, and so did most of America. A few decades later, New Bedford became a huge textile hub. We were making high quality textiles for the world. We were able to do this because we had the skilled population and the space by building massive textile mills along the waterfront. We used the water to export these textiles. Unfortunately, we also used these waters to dump toxic chemicals and dyes created by these textiles. So like whaling, the textiles proved to provide jobs but hurt our environment.
In the modern era, we became the top fishing hub that provided jobs for our community. The problem is, just like whaling, it was not sustainable as the mentality of “there’s plenty of fish in the sea” became a fallacy. Fishing is not like farming where farmers go back and cultivate by feeding soil and planting seeds. So when fishermen go out and catch their harvest, there is no system that tells them to repopulate their waters for future catches. As fish populations started to decline, government organizations stepped in and put forward strict guidelines. We learned from this though and now know a lot more from it.
You see the trend? New Bedford’s waterfront is like gold. Many wish to have what we have. We are in an ideal location that has proven throughout our history to rebound economically by providing jobs. If we get Southcoast rail, which I am optimistic about, our ability to export our products will be that much more powerful. So not only would we have the water as an asset to import/export, but we would have a rail system which would be 20 times more efficient than truck and it’s safer!
So as we move into the future, I have had many thoughts on my mind about how we can rebuild New Bedford and once again make it a place that people want to live and work in. In my vision, I see New Bedford becoming a powerful, independent hub for local commerce. We have so much farmland around us that it can easily feed our population of 100,000 and become an asset for local businesses. There are so many opportunities to create a vibrant community for ourselves as a young person looking for work.
Thinking about downtown immediately conjures no less than 20 great buildings that can provide space for individuals to become entrepreneurs. New Bedford is still affordable enough that we as citizens still have rich opportunities. We have great buildings that can be retrofitted to provide great manufacturing facilities for the new economy. The city is dense enough that we can create pedestrian and bike friendly streets that allow our families to easily navigate without the use of a car. We have a rich housing fabric that is the envy of other cities. Our beautiful old whaling captain houses are not only homes, but businesses and structures that are beautiful works of architecture, almost art, when properly maintained. We have a wonderful stock of triple-deckers that enable us to live in compact places within easy walks or biking within our communities.
Our people are hard working. We love to socialize and love our family atmosphere. We love our wonderful assets such as the many parks, beaches and hiking trails nearby. So why not nourish our communities by supporting and encouraging our fellow citizens to create our future for us? As you all may know, we cannot keep relying on government to create it for us. They can make it easier for us, but it’s up to us to create our own opportunities.
So now that I laid out my thoughts for how to recreate our economy by creating a local business structure, what would you do to improve New Bedford’s community?
Freddie Estremera runs Whaling City Tales, a blog about life experiences, thoughts, and ideas of a young couple living in the Southcoast of Massachusetts.
I really enjoyed reading this article and it reflected many of my personal thoughts on Greater NB and it’s potential. So much has already started to change in NB since I moved to the area in 2005, and most of those changes are thanks to people who are tirelessly dedicated to the community. Event organizers, like those on the board of AHA! have helped restore the rich culture of NB and small business owners have shown a dedication to working together to bring tourism to the region. There is still clearly a lot to be done, especially in terms of job creation but I am proud to see the steps that have been taken so far. Thanks for writing this positive article!
Thanks! I think we can do a good job of creating our own unique environment. I’m excited about the possibilities!
I would like to see the city of New Bedford take buildings that have remained empty and left to deteriorate over a number of years and sell them for a rediculously low price to people who will sign a contract agreeing to fix them up within a two year period. Perhaps a very low interest loan could be offered to the buyer as incentive to complete the work. Also, I would like to see building owners receive a tax advantage of some sort for offering their empty spaces free of charge to new businesses to assist them in getting their new business off the ground. Perhaps the building owners could be exempt from paying city taxes for up to 6 months if they will agree to participate in the program. The business idea would have to be approved by a panel of building owners and the business owners would have to agree on a preset rent at the end of the 6 months. I think it’s a shame that NB has so many empty buildings that the city does little to get them occupied…….they collect hefty taxes while the buildings aren’t collecting rents and make it difficult for the building owners to afford to keep them up.