Boston excelled ahead of other cities throughout the nation this year in its economy, development and accessibility, according to a City of Boston press release.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino reported Tuesday, in his annual address to the Boston Chamber of Commerce, that the city’s economy has grown more rapidly than any other metropolitan area in 2011.
In the past year, there has been a job growth of 2.1 percent, “outpacing the state’s and doubling the nation’s,” according to the official City of Boston press release.
Massachusetts itself outperformed the rest of the nation’s economy this year in hiring, as information services grew the most, 5 percent, and government jobs grew the least, decreasing more than 1 percent, according to the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
During the same year, nationwide job growth increased by less than 1 percent.
Menino said in the address there is also $2.4 billion worth of development occurring within the city.
Boston also increased its amount of office occupancy during the first three-quarters of the year by 1.2 million square feet, according to the press release, outpacing the rest of the nation.
The city also saw the greatest number of new housing units emerge since 2006, with 1,000 new structures in the third quarter of this year.
However, there are still stalled construction projects citywide, such as the former Downtown Crossing site of Filene’s Basement, which filed for bankruptcy in November.
Menino also said at the address that local hotel revenues went up 5.3 percent in comparison to last year, showing that the tourism industry in Boston has also been on the rise.
Besides economic improvements, Boston has also moved forward in accessibility and green transportation.
The launch of the New Balance bike-sharing system Hubway, which began in July, resulted in 61 stations and more than 600 bicycles available for public use throughout the city, according to a City of Boston press release.
The emergence of Boston as an ecologically friendly city for transportation has also led to the installation of about 50 miles of bike lanes, including an upcoming bike lane on Massachusetts Avenue.
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