Can Boston Be a World-Class City Without a Tool Bank?
Cities around the country are reaping the benefits of tool banks, where residents or non-profits can borrow tools for low cost. But Boston isn't one of those cities.
A recent post on the Atlantic Cities blog touted the power of tool banks: places where costly tools can be loaned out at low cost. Picture a massive shed stocked with shovels, rakes, power tools, wheelbarrows, ladders, water hoses, work gloves—even a tiller and a generator. Since opening last year, Charlotte’s ToolBank has equipped more than 11,000 volunteers at 500 different projects, lending tools with a combined retail value of $243,000 for only $7,200. It now provides 134 nonprofit agencies with tools. That's in Charlotte, people of Boston. I'm a proud North Carolinian, but when you're talking urban innovations, I'd like to think Boston has a step up on the Queen City. The Boston area doesn't have any tool banks, according to Deb …
