The City2City initiative was developed with leadership in the Pioneer Valley with particular assistance from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, which served as coordinator, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. To date, trips have been taken to “resurgent cities” Winston-Salem and Greensboro, North Carolina, Grand Rapids, Michigan, New Haven, Connecticut and Allentown and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.



As the initiative goes forward, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) has offered to provide the facilitating and coordinating role. Below is a letter from Tim Brennan, Executive Director of the PVPC, sent out this past fall to C2C participants about the status of the initiative and plans for the next C2C trip in 2014.

Dear City to City Participant:
 
As you may know, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission has agreed to take on the role of coordinating and conducting the City2City program (now called City2City Pioneer Valley) beginning in 2014. We're in the process of seeking funding to support this endeavor, and we'd also like to convene the planning group in January or February to discuss activities including a potential in-region event plus a trip for the upcoming year. We currently envision an event in the spring or fall of 2014 and a trip to an out-of-state resurgent city/metropolitan area thereafter.
 
Since a few months have passed since you may have last heard anything about City2City, we wanted to provide you with a quick update on our progress. To date we have received partial funding for the 2014 program year, thanks to the Davis Foundation, and, in addition to the other "resurgent cities" identified by the Federal Reserve, have considered Chattanooga, Tennessee as a potential destination. The Chattanooga metropolitan area has similar demographics to the Pioneer Valley and has received national recognition for its revitalization successes. However, there are many other possible locations, and of course we will need your input on this decision. We look forward to working with you on this effort and reconvening the City2City planning group early on in 2014.
 
Thanks very much for your interest and support, and we will look forward to seeing you in the New Year. In the interim, if you should have questions or comments please don't hesitate to contact Lori Tanner or me here at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) at (413) 781-6045. 
 

Timothy W. Brennan, Executive Director
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission