Arianna Klusky
December 06, 2022
POLS 2358 – Issues in Cities and Suburbs
Neighborhood Report
Selection, Location, Key Features
The Back Bay neighborhood within the heart of Boston is a beautiful cross between
preserved architecture and modern buildings that has something for everyone to enjoy. The Back
Bay/South End area, located about a ten-minute drive, or a twenty-nine-minute walk, from
Boston’s Financial District caters greatly to the next generation of young adults, also known as:
college students. While you will be hard pressed to find someone over the age of twenty-five
within this area, as it is surrounded by universities such as Boston University, Emerson
University, Tufts University, and Northeastern University, there is one major connection
between this area and Boston’s center of business and finance. These universities house the
future of engineering, medicine, business, politics, and Boston’s central business district and
large institutions are the main source of real-world experience for those of us looking to some
day join the work force. Here, those who choose to stay in Boston for internships and jobopportunities will use the skills honed from our schools in the Back Bay and apply them to jobs
in the heart of Boston.
The dominant topographic features of Boston’s Back Bay consist of flat land that are
mostly streets and roads. Additionally, there are some parks that are mostly grass such as Copley
square and the Esplanade, which is a lovely break from the city feel of Boston. Due to the flat
nature of Back Bay’s environment, walking is a very popular mode of transportation. Another
popular mode of transportation is the T, Boston’s train line, which is similar to the subway in
New York. This is a convenient mode of transportation as it is inexpensive, safe, and can get you
where you need to be in a considerably small amount of time.
One building type that proves to be dominant throughout the Back Bay is Boston’s
Brownstone apartments. These buildings are a key component in preserving Boston’s
architecture. These nineteenth century Victorian brownstones show that while Boston is modern
and flooding with colleges and businesses, it is still a classy residential area. Another
nineteenth-century build in Back-Bay is the infamous Christian Science Center, somewhere
we’ve all gone to take pictures at one point or another. While it’s obvious that it has been
preserved, it is also evident that it has been maintained without ruining its integrity and old style.
Boston’s ability to preserve buildings like this while continuing to create modern shopping
centers such as the Prudential Center within such close proximity is a true work of art, as they
were able to do so without ruining the European charm that the Back Bay has to offer. Because
everything is so close to each other, from old churches to new shopping malls, the social life in
the Back Bay area is thriving with people in college who are exploring somewhere new in
addition to graduates who just began their life in this beautiful city.
Neighborhood Population
Back Bay in Boston, MA houses an affluent group of people with a median household
income of about $112,000 per year. (BPDA, July 2017) This amount is almost double that of the
United States’ median income, which is currently approximately $65,000 per year. In terms of
diversity, currently seventy-one percent of residents are White, twelve percent are Asian, ten
percent are Hispanic, and the remaining seven percent is divided evenly among African
American and Two or more races. (U.S. Census, 2020) This information is based on a population
of approximately 19,787 people. In terms of religion, roughly fifty-seven percent of those living
in the Boston metro area identify as Christian, twenty-nine percent identify as catholic, leaving
only ten percent of people who believe in non-Christian faiths including Jewish, Muslim,
Buddhist, Hindu, and other religions. The last thirty-three percent of the population claim to be
unaffiliated. (U.S. Census, 2020)
Over time, the demographics in this neighborhood have changed. According to the
Boston Planning and Development Agency, the Asian and Hispanic population of the
neighborhood of Back Bay have increased, therefore increasing the diversity of the area.
However, as seen in the population data mentioned earlier, roughly three quarters of the
population is still white. From the year 2000 to 2015, the population of Back Bay saw an
increase of five percent. (BPDA, July 2017)
Due to the age distribution within Boston’s Back Bay, the community’s labor force
consists of roughly twelve thousand people, making up three percent of Boston’s labor force.
The prominent occupations within Back Bay consist of management, business, and finance,
which can be attributed to the fact that eighty-six percent of its work force has attained a
bachelor’s degree or higher. People in the age range of twenty-five to thirty-four account for
roughly forty-four percent of Back Bay’s population. (BPDA, July 2017) It can be inferred from
this information that a significant amount of the work force working in management, business,
and finance firms/agencies are recent college graduates.
Major Social Activities
The Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts always offers something to do. It is one of
my favorite parts of Boston because it is the perfect combination of community and social events
and historical landmarks and activities. Specific social functions include things like Farmer’s
markets, festivals, and flea markets that people from all over the greater Boston Area come to
experience. One farmer’s market is the Copley Square Farmer’s market, located at Dartmouth
and Boylston Street. The beauty of markets like this are that they are open for six months out of
the year, which makes a fun activity to experience in the fall with friends and family. It is also
home to upscale shopping centers such as the Prudential center, which additionally houses
popular restaurants and another great place to spend time. While this area has a lot of tourist
attractions and fabulous shopping, it is also a rather residential area. Back Bay is extremely well
known for its historic brown stone buildings, which are popular residences for both permanent
Boston residents and off-campus college students.
Both the Back Bay area’s historic buildings/landmarks and its current buildings are
served greatly as the area continues to develop. One specific structure that pertains to both
historic and current Back Bay is the Boston Public Library. Built in 1848 and opened in 1854,
the Boston Public Library could originally be found on Mason Street and was converted into the
library from a schoolhouse. As the collection of book volumes began to grow, the library was
relocated to another space on Boylston Street in 1854, which, again, quickly became too small.
In April of 1880, the location of the Boston Public Library that we now know and love in Back
Bay was allowed by the city of Boston. In 1986, the library was officially designated as a
National Historic Landmark. (BPL History, 2022) Not only is this a beautiful landmark to be
toured and admired, but it is also a place that can be utilized by all in current day. It is a
beautiful, quiet spot that can be used by students in high school for homework, by college kids
for adequate and productive studying, and by adults who need a quiet place to work as well. As
discussed prior, Back Bay’s large population of college students contributes to the extended use
of the Boston Public Library and most definitely helps to prevent its contents from becoming
obsolete.
Back Bay’s extensive selection of pharmacies, grocery stores, and hospitals are just some
of the area’s basic services that help meet basic quality of life needs for residents. Back Bay is
also home to the Women’s Lunch Place, a women’s shelter that offers women in need healthy
meals and runs on donations and volunteers. My sorority, for example, signs up for a certain day
every few weeks where we cook many meals, including lists of their ingredients, to donate to the
shelter and help feed those who are there that day. Not only does this help meet the needs of
people who can’t afford to do so, but it also builds and enforces a sense of community within the
area.
Area Change and Conflict
Over the last century, since Back Bay’s official founding in the 1900s, the area has
undergone many physical and social changes. In the area’s early years, Back Bay was well
known for being a wealthy area. It separated the poor from the wealthy with expensive real
estate, and mass amounts of urbanization. “According to Jackson in Crabgrass Frontier, during
this age of new technology and industrialization, there was a new pattern of suburban affluence
and center despair. The result was hailed as the inevitable outcome of desirable segregation of
commercial from residential areas and of the disadvantaged from the more comfortable’
(Jackson, ch 2.1)” (A Cross Section of the Back Bay). The creation of Back Bay was made on
the idea that the rich should be isolated “as its residential entity”, as stated in the article. With the
increase in transportation, however, came a new flood of people into the Back Bay area.
Inventions such as the MBTA train line and the Ford Model T car allowed for increased
transportation by those in “lower” social classes into the area, despite its geographical isolation.
More specifically, the installation of the Copley T-station, which is in the Back Bay area.
Because of this, Back Bay could no longer remain closed off from the rest of the Boston Area,
creating a more economically diverse area over time. These changes are important to the
development of an area, as it allows people from both areas to be able to work and have access to
better institutions, allowing for a better quality of life.
Today, Back Bay remains a high-end area, as it houses the famous Newbury Street,
known for its expensive restaurants and high-end shopping. It is also, however, open to people
from all over through transportation and job opportunities. As of right now, only 6% of available
housing in the Back Bay area is considered “affordable” (Patkin, 2022). So, while the area is
technically open to everybody, it is still not a realistic option for some people to reside. Because
of this, the tensions between the poor and the wealthy that existed when the area was first
developed are still very possible and understandable. If no action is taken to combat the lack of
affordable housing, it is very possible that the area could once again become separated the way it
once was.
Development Proposal
As discussed, Boston’s Back Bay is a beautiful area that, over the last century, has built
and fostered an accepting and diverse community. It is known for its stunning Victorian
Brownstones and historical buildings such as the beautiful Boston Public Library and Christian
Science Center and its reflecting pool. Even so, there are aspects of its design and quality of life
that can stand to benefit from improvement.
While the area is no longer physically isolated from the rest of the Boston area, there are
still barriers that exist when it comes to becoming a resident of the Back Bay community. One of
these major barriers is its disproportionately high cost of living. The average neighborhood in
Boston contains units of which 19% are considered affordable, whereas only 6% are considered
affordable in Back Bay. (Patkin, 2022) Improving this issue would help build a more
permanently diverse community and improve quality of living for those who currently cannot
afford to live in this area.
One way that this can be achieved is by the building of more affordable housing in the
area. An option for this would be the development and construction of an apartment complex,
with a number of units that would be able to accommodate a portion of the current Boston
population that is struggling to afford housing. Currently, there are only about 4% of available
apartments for rent, which is below a “healthy” average of 6% availability. (Callahan, 2022) In
addition to allowing for a larger community, building this housing will prevent current residents
from having to face higher rent, as the demand for housing is so high and vacancies are low.
Back Bay has a current population density of approximately 16,491 people per square
mile, a relatively low density compared to other city areas such as New York City, which has a
population density of 27,012 people per square mile. (Center for Sustainable Systems, 2021)
While adding affordable housing would increase this density slightly, there is some leeway to be
had, as city living is notoriously a dense style of living. One positive side to this, however, is that
an increased housing density by decreasing prices will improve the massive amounts of
congestion in Back Bay. With the elimination of strict COVID-19 restrictions, people are
returning to work in person in addition to an increase in social outings. Consequently, public
transportation such as buses have increased back to a capacity of 65% of what they were before
COVID-19 and is only increasing. (Lisinski, 2022). Additionally, it is stated in an article from
June of 2021 that “the Boston area earned INRIX's dubious designation of having the worst
congestion in the country”. (Lisinski, 2021) The amount of pre and post COVID-19 traffic is
highly correlated to Boston’s high housing rates, as the high cost of decent living within the area
forces members of its work force to search for affordable housing outside of the area, creating an
increased need for commutes from outside the city. This increase in transportation time
additionally caused a decrease in productivity in the workplace, which has negative
consequences in the economy as well. A reported average of roughly $2,200 was lost due to lack
of productivity relating to traffic. (Acitelli, 2020) While this could be blamed on population
increases in other areas, research shows that, here, it is due to Back Bay being one of the most
expensive places to live in the country.
The Back Bay area is rated highly everywhere. It is safe, with relatively good public
schools, a great place to race a family in a diverse community, with the only downsides being
housing rates and mobility due to traffic congestion. (Resident, 2021) The solution to both issues
is simple – densely built affordable housing and apartment complexes to decrease the necessity
for long commutes via car and MBTA, which also creates a solution that is overall better for the
environment, and the economy.
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