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The new compact calls for the 11 Gateway cities to “form an association of municipalities to pursue common interests supporting the community and the economic revitalization of our historic cities for the purposes of contributing to the general well-being of the Commonwealth.”

The May 19 event, sponsored by MassINC and the Urban Initiative at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, positions the state to be at the national forefront in the development of a new urban agenda for economic development in older, industrial cities.

The compact is an outgrowth of a report issued in February 2007 by MassINC and the Brookings Institution, “Reconnecting Massachusetts’ Gateway Cities.”

Lt. Gov. Tim Murray spoke at the gathering, praising the efforts of the mayors and offering the Patrick administration’s strong support for this regional economic development strategy. “We need all of our cities and towns to thrive in the Commonwealth,” he said. “This administration stands with you as partners, shoulder to shoulder.”

Murray used the platform to announce a new brownfields initiative by the Patrick Administration. State agencies will work collaboratively to assist urban areas in efforts to clean up and reuse polluted sites “that may be hindering redevelopment of key properties,” he said.

On May 17, Gov. Deval Patrick traveled to Pittsfield, one of the Gateway cities, to promote his regional economic development strategy of creating urban “growth districts,” focused upon 16 development-ready sites in Massachusetts where residential and commercial development will be accelerated.

In Pittsfield, the new designation will enable the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority to leverage a variety of state and federal development programs, including a streamlined 180-day permitting process, which will involve the William Stanley Business Park. Developing this site is considered key to lowering the city’s high commercial tax rate, especially to relieve the burden on Pittsfield’s small business owners.

At the Gateway cities event, former Fall River Mayor Ed Lambert, now the director of the Urban Initiative at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, provided an overview of the efforts by the 11 Gateway cites to build a new economic future. These cities, he said, are defined by their common industrial past, their struggle to reinvent themselves, and their location outside of Greater Boston.

The focus of the effort will be: fix the basics, build the middle-class workforce of tomorrow, and create new economic connections for the 21st century.

State Rep. Antonio Cabral from New Bedford, who announced that he was going to be leading a new legislative “Urban Caucus,” had a very direct answer to what was needed in terms of connections. “Passenger rail,” he said.

Cabral praised the governor for his approach to regional economic development. “It’s not a top-down approach, with the state dictating what we need to do,” he said. “The administration is listening; they want to work with local communities.”