Figure 1: Boston Downtown
History
Boston is also one of the oldest cities in the USA, founded in 1630 by Puritan (protestants who thought that the English Reformation hadn’t gone far enough) colonists from England and was named after the down of Boston in the English county of Lincolnshire. In the city everything was about God, this meant that it was compulsory to go the church, marriage was enforced and sinners were persecuted. This did however produce an extremely stable and structured society in Boston. Shortly after Boston was founded (1636) Harvard college was founded, also other colleges were quickly founded in the city, this was all in scope with the puritan values of hard work, moral uprightness and good education.
By the 1770s people in the America’s became increasingly unhappy with their English rulers. Especially in Boston was a lot of unhappiness with their rights. They were especially unhappy with the fact that they had to pay taxes without any form of representation in the English parliament. The shooting of British soldiers on a rioting mob in Boston escalated the tensions. British parliament on the other hand was not willing to give up those taxes and imposed an extra tax on tea. In all the 13 colonies, the sale of tea was prevented by americans. So when a ship loaded with tea came to the Boston harbour, it was dumped in the sea (Figure 1). This resulted in some very harsh laws from the British government, which resulted in setting up the First Continental Congress by all 13 colonies. The British moved extra troops to Boston and were then driven out of Boston by George Washington at the famous Battle of Bunker Hill, which was the first battle of the American Revolution. This victory on March 17, 1776 is still celebrated today.
Figure 2: Tea dump in the sea by Boston harbour
After this victory Boston quickly grew to one of the biggest ports in the world by 1800. Also it's population grew fast from 1780 (10,000) to 1900 (560,000) it grew with at least 25% every decade. In the 19th century Boston was the center of the abolitionist movement, for the 'immediate and complete emancipation of all slaves' in the USA. Also a lot of Irishmen settled in Boston, especially after the potato famine in Ireland of 1845-1849. The 19th century also gave birth to world-renowned universities such as MIT(1865), Boston University (1839), the University of Massachesetts (1863) and Tufts University (1852). In the late 19th century Boston was a cultural center and was home to a lot of writers, philosophers, theologians and historians. There were also some great publishers and magazines coming from Boston. In the last decade of the 19th century the first subway in North America was opened in Boston and is still in operation today.
From the late 19th century to mid-20th century there was also a strict censorship in Boston. City officials banned anything they deemed immoral salacious or offensive. This gave Boston the image of a hotbed of intolerance and discipline. After World War 2 Boston turned slowly into a modern American city and had the problem accompanying that: Transportation problems. It had an extensive road and highway network, which made it one of the highest congested cities in the States. In the 1980s a Central Artery/Tunnel project was started. With this project the major highway in Boston was tunneled in a 5.6 km long tunnel. 25 years (2007) and 22 billion dollars later the project was finished and is listed as the most expensive highway project in the USA. Today Boston is a city with about 620,000 people living in the city itself and in the Urban area surrounding Boston another 4 million people live. In Boston itself the crime rates have gone down in the last decades, this is most notably in their murders per year which were 152 in 1990 and only 39 in 2003.
Climate
Boston has a continental climate with maritime influences, due to the fact it is a city near the coast. The classification for this climate is: ‘humid continental climate’, with typically warm rainy and humid summers and cold windy and snowy winters, due to the fact that the wind mainly blows towards the ocean the influence of the Atlantic is minimal. In July, when we visit, the average daytime temperature is 28°C with night temperatures around 18°C.
Education
Boston has a reputation of being the intellectual center of the United States. In the Greater Boston area there are more than 250,000 students attending college at a university. The fact that Boston University is the fourth largest employer in the city of Boston stipulates that fact. Figure 3 gives you an idea of the amount of universities in Boston. Most of the universities are private universities, with the University of Massachusetts Boston being the only public one. The Three biggest universities are: the Boston University, Harvard University and Northeastern University. They each have an enrollment of 25,000-30,000 students.
Figure 3: Universities in Boston
Industry
The Greater Boston metropolitan area has the 12th largest economy in the world, with a GDP of 260 billion dollar. Students and tourism compound a significant part of the economy in the area. Also the headquarters of Gillette, New Balance, The Boston Consultancy Group, Bain & Company and other companies contribute to the economy of this area. Other major companies are located along Route 128, which serves as the center of the region’s high-tech industry.
Culture
Culture is well represented in Boston with a lot of theatres, museums, festivals, churches and concerts. There are also a lot of historic American Revolution sights preserved. Also in sports there is something for everyone, with clubs playing in the highest leagues from about every sport available. Politically Boston is in majority Democratic and has a ‘strong mayor – council government’ ruling body. Here the mayor, in Boston this is Thomas M. Menino, has extensive executive powers and rules like a president over his town. Mayor Menino currently serves his fifth 4 year term, whereas the city council is reelected every 2 years.
Transport
As for transportation Boston has three major airports and several smaller one. Unlike the newer cities in the States downtown Boston hasn’t got the grid like street plan, known from for example New York, but a more organic pattern. Boston has an extensive public transport section, with the fourth-highest rate of public transit usage in the USA with a metro system of 105 km of track and a commuter rail network of 320 km. It also has an extensive bus network and water shuttles. Also a lot of people go by foot or bicycle. After twice being voted as worst cycling city in the United States Boston has started a bike program to improve bicycling conditions in 2007.