As we move forward with the continuing renaissance of the City of Pittsfield, through a newly booming cultural economy, a bustling downtown, and a burgeoning group of youthful professionals and artists working and investing in the city, the vision remains clear: We are striving to make Pittsfield the finest small city in the Northeast.

That means investing in our schools by attracting the best teachers, creating the region’s most state of the art learning environment, and ensuring the sound infrastructure of our schools to serve our children for years to come. It means keeping focused on public safety and zeroing-in on problem areas to keep our streets safe. It also means that we strike a balance between essential development in the community to broaden the tax base, while protecting the natural resources that help make Pittsfield a perfect place to live, work, and to raise a family.

My vision is to continue to make Downtown Pittsfield, the downtown of the Berkshires, welcoming residents and visitors alike to stroll down pedestrian-friendly streets and sidewalks to the finest restaurants, shops, and world-class entertainment venues. It means a living, breathing downtown with artists, vendors, and so many others, creating and sharing their work for the world to enjoy.

The City of Pittsfield is a creative, entrepreneurial, and compassionate community that continues to evolve and grow with the changing times.

Still, no matter how much this community adapts to the changing economy, new technologies, and industries – our core values have not changed. Pittsfield is a city of neighborhoods, where decades ago, the Irish, Italian, Polish, and immigrants from many other countries came and created a thriving tight-nit community.

While times have changed, our cultural heritage continues to be a strength, which is becoming only richer as Pittsfield attracts some of the most talented people from all over the world to be a part of an emerging creative economy; an economy that includes the finest in the cultural arts including a Tony-winning playhouse and world-class performances in one of the world’s great acoustical houses, groundbreaking technology that will transform education for years to come, biotechnology integral in the fight against cancer, and other emerging technologies that will provide the jobs to drive our economy in the 21st Century.

I invite you to be part of the Pittsfield community as we continue to make this city an even better place to live, to work, and to raise your family.

              James M. Ruberto
                     Mayor