Graduate School
Harvard Kennedy School

Mentors
Tim Warren, The Warren Group and Rappaport Institute Advisory Board Member and Chelsea Bruck, DBI Projects and former Rappaport Policy Fellow

Placement
Gloucester, MA

Supervisor
Ann-Margaret Ferrante, Massachusetts State Representative and former Rappaport Urban Scholar

Project Description
Natalia worked with the State Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante where she evaluated the economic, community, and city impact of a proposed 40,000 SF theater & civic center development project in downtown Gloucester, MA. She incorporated four main analyses, including stakeholder interviews, an assessment of Gloucester’s planning goals, a literature review on economic development and the arts, and an economic impact analysis by using a software called IMPLAN. She conducted an IMPLAN analysis to quantify the economic benefit that expenditures have on Gloucester, from both the construction of the Gloucester Forum and the Forum’s activities (theater, events, catering) as well as the increase in spending before or after these events, namely restaurant spending.