Back Bay

Back Bay has changed a lot since its creation in the 1890s. One of the only areas of Boston with a true grid, its graceful rowhouses, apartment buildings, and mansions radiate outwards from Commonwealth Avenue, and run along every street in the neighborhood. A very upper class area, the architecture of the area is famous throughout Boston and the world over. There is not very much cultural, socioeconomic, or business diversity, though. Nearly every shop in the area is an upscale clothing store, boutique, or some other kind of upscale shop. The area is graced with very good transit connections. Amtrak, Intercity buses, MBTA Commuter Rail, the MBTA Orange Line, the MBTA Green Line, several frequent and infrequent MBTA Bus Services, and two MBTA Key Bus Routes all serve Back Bay. The area also plays host to very wide sidewalks, Hubway stations, and bike lanes. However, some mixed income development would do everyone in the neighborhood some good.

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East Boston

East Boston, especially the Maverick Square area, was pretty cool. For transit, Hubway (bikeshare), the MBTA Blue Line, many reasonably frequent bus lines, and two Key Bus Routes all serve the neighborhood. Maverick Station and its bus bays are straight in the middle of Maverick Square, and act as an important hub of the neighborhood. The area lies near Logan Airport, and streets are arranged in a loose grid. The neighborhood is predominately Latino, and is mostly working class, though some new upper class developments can be seen. The buildings include tall public buildings, single story commercial, townhouses, and lower density mixed-use. Most buildings are older, and businesses range in variety quite a lot as well, from taquerias to light industry, and everything in between. My suggestion for the neighborhood would be to designate certain mixed income "corridors" and allow the rest of the neighborhood gentrify naturally. A pretty good area.

Chinatown

Boston's Chinatown is one of the largest and most ethnically Chinese Chinatowns in the country. Located close to Downtown, Chinatown has good transit connections and many Hubway (bikeshare) stops. A few surface parking lots exist, but other than that, the neighborhood has no vacant lots, or abandoned buildings. As far as buildings go, mostly older 5-7 story buildings dominate, many of which are mixed use, but some are purely residential or multistory commercial. Of the newer buildings, mostly 2-3 story multistory commercial dominate. The "entrance" to Chinatown is at the corner of Beach and Hudson Streets, where the Chinatown Gate, or Paifang, and a small but crowded park can be found. Transit-wise, the Orange Line, Green Line, Silver Line, and Red Line all have stations in or nearby the neighborhood. In addition to these three lines, several frequent and infrequent bus routes serve the neighborhood as well, but no key bus routes currently serve the neighborhood. All in all, a pretty great neighborhood, with a lot of potential. However, due to its proximity to Downtown, if nothing is done soon, Chinatown may eventually push out its ethnic Chinese due to gentrification.

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