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work that city: other places...previous|re-work it
Places That Used To Exist The West End was pretty much destroyed and inhabitants displaced as part of Boston's "urban renewal" initiative of the 1950s (see Herbert Gans' book The Urban Villagers). Today, the West End refers to the area north of Beacon Hill and east of the North End, with Cambridge St. forming its southern boundary. In the colonial period, this area was used as pasturage. The area was first developed in the 1830s after Beacon Hill was leveled and Mill Pond filled. When the land was developed residentially, waves of immigrant populations settled the area. After the Revolutionary War, the West End's population was primarily African-American. In the years that followed, the population shifted to concentrations of Irish, Jewish, Italians, Polish, and Slavic. By the late 1950s, the ethnically diverse and largely poor community became the target for urban renewal. In the 1960s, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) razed the neighborhood to create the Charles River Park apartments and retail developments. The neighborhood, likened to today's North End, was completely destroyed and all of its residents, unable to afford the new housing, were displaced. Concrete high-rise developments labeled "If you lived here, you'd be home now" stand in the place of the old West End. back to top Other Places We'd Go If We Had the Time: Allston-Brighton: Neighbors to Cambridge, Allston-Brighton is an important part of any Harvard student's education of the Boston area. Recently, Harvard has increased tensions with residents of A-B over secretive real estate purchases and impending development by university, which threatens the integrity and affordability of these communities. Harvard has attempted to appease residents with scholarships and free tickets to Harvard athletic events, yet the problems run far deeper. Ask Matty about the (confidential) report on what Harvard will look like in 50 years... pretty scary. Dorchester: A broad area that covers much of Boston south of where we are able to reach during our tour. Dorchester is decidedly not a wealthy area, though it is much more diverse, economically and racially, than nearby Roxbury or, for that matter, most of Boston. An interesting phenomenon in Dorchester is the presence of former synagogues (with Hebrew and stars of David engraved in the stone) that are now churches-the change represents an urban trend in which middle-class neighborhoods that were formerly Jewish become predominately black (note Brooklyn, Chicago's south side...). More detailed, outrage-inspiring descriptions can be found in "Death of an American Jewish Community" in our reading packet. See "blockbusting" below. East Boston: This area is a working class neighborhood accessible by T and by car tunnel from downtown Boston. East Boston was the largest Jewish community in New England around the turn of the century, though Jews were far outnumbered by Catholic Italians. East Boston has become much more diverse in recent decades, as many Spanish-speaking immigrants have arrived from the Dominican Republic and Latin America. In the 1990s, a growing Vietnamese community developed in the area. East Boston is also the host to Logan International Airport, which is only three T lines and a shuttle bus from Harvard Square. Traffic and noise from Logan are perennial community issues for East Boston. Mattapan: This area, like many in Dorchester and Roxbury, changed quickly from Jewish to mostly African-American in the decades following World War II. Recent waves of Haitian immigrants have settled largely in Mattapan, which is now the area with the highest concentration of Haitians in Massachusetts. The average income of the area is slightly above the median for Boston as a whole, though single mothers in the neighborhood have dramatically lower incomes than the average. Mattapan is connected to the Ashmont branch of the red line via a free trolley that runs through the Cedar Grove cemetery. The story has it that a caretaker devoted his life to caring for the cemetery, was devastated when the tracks were laid through it, and died a broken man. He decided to haunt and be spooky when the fog rolls in. Jamaica Plain: This area prides itself on its racial diversity and general funkiness. It was home to many hippies and artists in past decades, though very recently the average rent has increased dramatically and it has become a significantly more expensive neighborhood to live in. Despite the high rent prices the area has recently become the heart of Boston's Dominican community. "JP" is host to Arnold Arboretum, which is owned by Harvard, and Jamaica Pond. JP successfully fought off the placement of Interstate 95 through its territory, according to the Boston History Collaborative; the highway now runs through the Western suburbs. back to top Other Random Boston Stuff: The Blue Laws: (Keeping everything closed on Sundays and holidays to prevent alcohol consumption before noon on Sunday). Were liberalized greatly in 1983; only applied strictly on Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Sunday, and nighttime. Ghosts on the T: The Red Line (from Ashmont to Mattapan) runs through Cedar Grove cemetery. What to call things: Worcester is pronounced Wooster. Dorchester is not "Dooster." I-93 is the expressway. I-90 is the Mass Pike, or just the Pike. I-95 is called 128. The store in the square is pronounced "coop," as in chickens; the hippie commune up Mass. Ave is the co-op. Massachusetts Avenue is never referred to as such; instead, Mass. Ave. Similarly, Comm. Ave. Fleetcenter is actually Boston Garden. No one knows how to pronounce Tremont; if possible, avoid saying it. Check-cashing outlets: There are a few on Tremont St. through the South End heading towards Mission Hill and on Columbus. Leaders and FUPpies can discuss the reasons for check cashing outlets (some FUPpies may not know), the growth in franchises, etc. Responses might be outrage at this "parasitic" business or defense of free market forces. Some would point out the usefulness of check-cashing stations for Boston residents receiving some government benefits who are also receiving unreported income and do not want to open easily investigable bank accounts. One discussion may be how to solve the problem - considering the bank's lack of investment in poorer neighborhoods and poorer depositors. Redlining, blockbusting, etc.: How is it that Boston's neighborhoods became so segregated? Why is it that people of color are often concentrated in some of the poorest areas with the fewest employment opportunities? This is no accident. The formation of the "ghetto" and of segregated neighborhoods in general was a direct result of active discriminatory practices by the government and by financial institutions, and the repercussions of the practices are still felt today. After WWII, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established to ensure that every American family (but really every White American Family) could buy a home. The FHA subsidized the construction of housing in the suburbs and provided more favorable mortgage opportunities than would otherwise be available in the free market. However, the FHA felt that this new housing investment would become unstable if "undesirable" elements were brought into the neighborhood mix. Basically, they thought that property values would drop if blacks were allowed in these new neighborhoods, so they encouraged housing developers to institute restrictive covenants that prevented the sale of houses to blacks. When this practice was finally outlawed by the Supreme Court, the FHA sought new ways to keep neighborhoods segregated. One practice was called redlining. The FHA and banks would code different neighborhoods with different colors that would indicate the likelihood of providing a loan or mortgage. People from neighborhoods marked in red would automatically be turned down, regardless of their qualifications. Not surprisingly, most black neighborhoods were redlined, so that blacks were actively excluded from America's housing boom. Blacks were forced to stay in their own neighborhoods, and as more African Americans migrated into cities, they were forced to live in these same neighborhoods, making them more crowded and often more impoverished as whites and jobs moved into the suburbs through the government's affirmative action (for whites) housing program. Furthermore, whites who remained in inner city neighborhoods were actively encouraged to move. Real estate agents would go to white city households and say: "Look, there are lots of blacks moving in around you, and there are even more coming. Your property value will drop rapidly if you don't sell right now." So white households would sell their homes at real cheap prices to banks and insurance companies, who would then sell them at much higher prices to black families and make a huge profit. Entire neighborhoods would shift demographics from majority white to majority black within just a couple of years. This process was known as blockbusting. For more info on the history of discriminatory housing policies in the 20th century, check out American Apartheid by Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton. The book has some pretty wak ideas in it, but the history section is really comprehensive. previous|re-work it |
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