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"Boston" redirects here. For other uses, see Boston (disambiguation).
Boston (pronounced ˈbɒstən), located in Suffolk County, is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States.Massachusetts Bigger Cities (over 6000 residents). City-Data.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-28. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the entire New England region.Steinbicker, Earl (2000). 50 one day adventures in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Hastingshouse/Daytrips Publishers, 7. ISBN 0803820089. The city, which had an estimated population of 596,763 in 2006, lies at the center of the Cambridge–Boston-Quincy metropolitan area—the 11th-largest metropolitan area (5th largest CSA) in the U.S., with a population of 4.4 million. Residents of Boston are referred to as Bostonians.
In 1630, Puritan colonists from England founded the city on the Shawmut Peninsula.Banner, David (2007). BOSTON HISTORY—The History of Boston, Massachusetts. SearchBoston.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-28. During the late eighteenth century Boston was the location of several major events during the American Revolution, including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. Several early battles of the American Revolution, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston, occurred within the city and surrounding areas. After American independence was attained Boston became a major shipping port and manufacturing center, and its rich history now attracts 16.3 million visitors annually.Boston: Economy. Thomson Gale (Thomson Corporation) (2006). Retrieved on 2007-04-28. The city was the site of several firsts, including America\'s first public school, Boston Latin School (1635),BPS at a Glance. Boston Public Schools (March 14, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-28. and first college, Harvard College (1636), in neighboring Cambridge. Boston was also home to the first subway system in the United States.Fagundes, David; Grant, Anthony (April 28 2003). The Rough Guide to Boston. Rough Guides. ISBN 1-84353-044-9.
Through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the peninsula. With many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is a center of higher educationVisitors Guide to Boston. SearchBoston.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-19. and a center for health care. The city\'s economy is also based on research, finance, and technology — principally biotechnology. Boston has been experiencing gentrification and has one of the highest costs of living in the United States.Heudorfer, Bonnie; Bluestone, Barry (2004). The Greater Boston Housing Report Card (pdf) 6. Center for Urban and Regional Policy (CURP), Northeastern University. Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
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Boston was founded on September 17 1630 by Puritan colonists from England. The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony are sometimes confused with the Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony ten years earlier in what is today Bristol County, Plymouth County, and Barnstable County, Massachusetts. The two groups are historically distinct and differed in religious practice. The separate colonies were not united until the formation of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691.
The Shawmut peninsula was connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus, and surrounded by the waters of Massachusetts Bay and the Back Bay, an estuary of the Charles River. Several prehistoric Native American archaeological sites excavated in the city have shown that the peninsula was inhabited as early as 5,000 BC.Archaeology of the Central Artery Project: Highway to the Past. Commonwealth Museum—Massachusetts Historical Commission (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-06. Boston\'s early European settlers first called the area Trimountaine, but later renamed the town after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, from which several prominent colonists had emigrated. Massachusetts Bay Colony\'s original governor, John Winthrop, gave a famous sermon entitled "A Model of Christian Charity," popularly known as the "City on a Hill" sermon, which captured the idea that Boston had a special covenant with God. (Winthrop also led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, which is regarded as a key founding document of the city.) Puritan ethics molded a stable and well-structured society in Boston. For example, shortly after Boston\'s settlement, Puritans founded America\'s first public school, Boston Latin School (1635), and America\'s first college, Harvard College (1636). Boston was the largest town in British North America until the mid-1700s."Growth" to Boston in its Heyday, 1640’s to 1730’s (pdf). Boston History & Innovation Collaborative (2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
Part of current downtown Boston by its harbor.
In the 1770s, British attempts to exert more stringent control on the thirteen colonies, primarily via taxation, prompted Bostonians to initiate the American Revolution. The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and several early battles occurred in or near the city, including the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. During this period, Paul Revere made his famous midnight ride.
After the revolution, Boston had become one of the world\'s wealthiest international trading ports due to the city\'s consolidated seafaring tradition — exports included rum, fish, salt, and tobacco. During this era, descendants of old Boston families became regarded as the nation\'s social and cultural elites; they were later dubbed the Boston Brahmins. In 1822, Boston was chartered as a city.About Boston. City of Boston (2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
The Embargo Act of 1807, adopted during the Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812 significantly curtailed Boston\'s harbor activity. Although foreign trade returned after these hostilities, Boston\'s merchants had found alternatives for their capital investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the city\'s economy and by the mid-1800s, the city\'s industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance. Until the early 1900s, Boston remained one of the nation\'s largest manufacturing centers, and was notable for its garment production and leather goods industries. A network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region made for easy shipment of goods and allowed for a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a dense network of railroads facilitated the region\'s industry and commerce. From the mid- to late nineteenth century, Boston flourished culturally; it became renowned for its rarefied literary culture and lavish artistic patronage. It also became a center of the abolitionist movement.Boston African American National Historic Site. National Park Service (April 28 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-08. The city reacted strongly to the Fugitive Slave Law, which contributed to President Franklin Pierce\'s attempt to make an example of Boston after the Burns Fugitive Slave Case.
In the 1820s, Boston\'s population began to swell and the city\'s ethnic composition changed dramatically with the first wave of European immigrants. Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period. By 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston.People & Events: Boston\'s Immigrant Population. WGBH/PBS Online (American Experience) (2003). Retrieved on 2007-05-04. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, Germans, Lebanese, French Canadians, and Russian and Polish Jews settle in the city. By the end of the nineteenth century, Boston\'s core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants — Italians inhabited the North End, the Irish dominated South Boston, and Russian Jews lived in the West End.
Irish and Italian immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston\'s largest religious communityBoston People. city-data.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-05. and since the early twentieth century the Irish have played a major role in Boston politics—prominent figures include the Kennedys, Tip O\'Neill, and John F. Fitzgerald.
Trinity Church reflected in the façade of the John Hancock Tower.
Between 1630 and 1890, the city tripled its physical size by land reclamation, by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps between wharves along the waterfront,The History of Land Fill in Boston. iBoston.org (2006). Retrieved on 2006-01-09.. Also see Howe, Jeffery (1996). Boston: History of the Landfills. Boston College. Retrieved on 2007-04-30. a process Walter Muir Whitehill called "cutting down the hills to fill the coves." The largest reclamation efforts took place during the 1800s. Beginning in 1807, the crown of Beacon Hill was used to fill in a 50-acre (20 ha) mill pond that later became Haymarket Square. The present-day State House sits atop this shortened Beacon Hill. Reclamation projects in the middle of the century created significant parts of the South End, West End, the Financial District, and Chinatown. After The Great Boston Fire of 1872, workers used building rubble as landfill along the downtown waterfront. During the mid-to-late nineteenth century, workers filled almost 600 acres (2.4 km²) of brackish Charles River marshlands west of the Boston Common with gravel brought by rail from the hills of Needham Heights. In addition, the city annexed the adjacent towns of Roxbury (1868), Dorchester (1870), Brighton, West Roxbury (including present day Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and West Roxbury), and Charlestown. The last three towns were annexed in 1874. (1991) Historical Atlas of Massachusetts. University of Massachusetts, 37.
In 1953, the Columbia Point public housing projects were completed on the Dorchester peninsula. There were 1,502 units in the development on 50 acres of land.
The first community health center in the United States was the Columbia Point Health Center in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. It was opened in December 1965 and served mostly the massive Columbia Point public housing complex adjoining it. It was founded by two medical doctors, Jack Geiger of Harvard University and Count Gibson of Tufts University. It is still in operation and was re-dedicated in 1990 as the Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center. Roessner, Jane. "A Decent Place to Live: from Columbia Point to Harbor Point - A Community History", Boston: Northeastern University Press, c2000. Cf. p.80, "The Columbia Point Health Center: The First Community Health Center in the Country".
By the early and mid-twentieth century, the city was in decline as factories became old and obsolete, and businesses moved out of the region for cheaper labor elsewhere. Boston responded by initiating various urban renewal projects under the direction of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), which was established in 1957. In 1958, BRA initiated a project to improve the historic West End neighborhood. Extensive demolition garnered vociferous public opposition to the new agency.Collins, Monica (August 7 2005). Born Again. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2007-05-08. BRA subsequently reevaluated its approach to urban renewal in its future projects, including the construction of Government Center. By the 1970s, the city\'s economy boomed after thirty years of economic downturn. Hospitals such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Brigham and Women\'s Hospital led the nation in medical innovation and patient care. Schools such as Harvard University, MIT, Boston University, and Boston College attracted students to the Boston area. Nevertheless, the city experienced conflict starting in 1974 over desegregation busing, which resulted in unrest and violence around public schools throughout the mid-1970s.
The Columbia Point housing complex went through bad times until there were only 350 families living in it in 1988. It was run down and dangerous.
In 1984, the city of Boston gave control of it to a private developer, Corcoran-Mullins-Jennison, who re-developed and re-vitalised the property into a beautiful residential mixed-income community called Harbor Point Apartments which was opened in 1988 and completed by 1990. It is a very significant example of revitalisation and re-development and was the first federal housing project to be converted to private, mixed-income housing in the USA. Harbor Point has won much acclaim for this transformation, including awards from the Urban Land Institute, the FIABCI Award for International Excellence, and the Rudy Bruner Award. Kamin, Blair. "Rethinking Public Housing", Blueprints magazine, Summer 1997, p.4, National Building Museum, Washington D.C. Roessner, Jane. "A Decent Place to Live: From Columbia Point to Harbor Point", Boston, Northeastern University Press, 2000. "Boston War Zone Becomes Public Housing Dream", The New York Times, November 23, 1991.
In the early twenty-first century the city has become an intellectual, technological, and political center. It has, however, experienced a loss of regional institutions,Feeney, Mark; Mehegan, David (April 15 2005). Atlantic, 148-year institution, leaving city. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2007-03-31. which included the acquisition of the Boston Globe by The New York Times, and the loss to mergers and acquisitions of local financial institutions such FleetBoston Financial, which was acquired by Charlotte-based Bank of America in 2004. The city also had to tackle gentrification issues and rising living expenses, with housing prices increasing sharply since the 1990s.
A simulated-color satellite image of the Boston area taken on NASA\'s Landsat 3
Owing to its early founding, Boston is very compact. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 89.6 square miles (232.1 km²)—48.4 square miles (125.4 km²) of it is land and 41.2 square miles (106.7 km²) (46.0%) of it is water. This compares with cities of comparable population such as Denver at 154.9 square miles (401 km²) and Charlotte, North Carolina at 280.5 square miles (726 km²). Of United States cities over 500,000, only San Francisco and Washington, D.C. are smaller in size. Boston\'s official elevation, as measured at Logan International Airport, is 19 feet (5.8 m) above sea level.Elevation data—Boston. U.S. Geological Survey (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-19. The highest point in Boston is Bellevue Hill at 330 feet (101 m) above sea level, while the lowest point is at sea level.Bellevue Hill, Massachusetts. Peakbagger.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
Boston is surrounded by the "Greater Boston" region, and bordered by the cities and towns of Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea, Everett, Somerville, Cambridge, Watertown, Newton, Brookline, Needham, Dedham, Canton, Milton, and Quincy.
Much of the Back Bay and South End neighborhoods are built on reclaimed land—all of the earth from two of Boston\'s three original hills, the "trimount", was used as landfill material. Only Beacon Hill, the smallest of the three original hills, remains partially intact; just half of its height was cut down for landfill. The downtown area and immediate surroundings consist mostly of low-rise brick or stone buildings, with many older buildings in the Federal style. Several of these buildings mix in with modern high-rises, notably in the Financial District, Government Center, the South Boston waterfront, and Back Bay, which includes many prominent landmarks such as the Boston Public Library, Christian Science Center, Copley Square, Newbury Street, and New England\'s two tallest buildings: the John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Center.Boston Skyscrapers. Emporis.com (2005). Retrieved on 2005-05-15. Near the John Hancock Tower is the old John Hancock Building with its prominent weather forecast beacon—whatever light illuminates gives an indication of weather to come: "steady blue. clear view; flashing blue, clouds are due; steady red, rain ahead; flashing red, snow instead." (In the summer, flashing red indicates instead that a Red Sox game has been rained out.) Smaller commercial areas are interspersed among single-family homes and wooden/brick multi-family row houses. Currently, the South End Historic District remains the largest surviving contiguous Victorian-era neighborhood in the U.S.About the SEHS. South End Historical Society (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
Along with downtown, the geography of South Boston was particularly impacted by the Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) Project (or the "Big Dig"). The unstable reclaimed land in South Boston posed special problems for the project\'s tunnels. In the downtown area, the CA/T Project allowed for the removal of the unsightly elevated Central Artery and the incorporation of new green spaces and open areas.
The Prudential Center in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston
Boston Common, located near the Financial District and Beacon Hill, is the oldest public park in the U.S.Boston Common. CelebrateBoston.com (2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-19. Along with the adjacent Boston Public Garden, it is part of the Emerald Necklace, a string of parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to encircle the city. Franklin Park, which is also part of the Emerald Necklace, is the city\'s largest park and houses a zoo.Franklin Park. City of Boston (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-28. Another major park is the Esplanade located along the banks of the Charles River. Other parks are scattered throughout the city, with the major parks and beaches located near Castle Island, in Charlestown and along the Dorchester, South Boston, and East Boston shorelines.
The skyline of Boston from the North side of the Charles River.
The Charles River separates Boston proper from Cambridge, Watertown, and the neighborhood of Charlestown. To the east lies Boston Harbor and the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The Neponset River forms the boundary between Boston\'s southern neighborhoods and the city of Quincy and the town of Milton. The Mystic River separates Charlestown from Chelsea and Everett, while Chelsea Creek and Boston Harbor separate East Boston from Boston proper.Kings Chapel Burying Ground, USGS Boston South (MA) Topo Map. TopoZone (2006). Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
Boston experiences a continental climate that is very common in New England, with prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore, minimizing the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. Summers are typically hot and humid, while winters are cold, windy and snowy. It has been known to snow in May and October, but these events are rare.May in the Northeast. Intellicast.com (2003). Retrieved on 2007-04-29.Wangsness, Lisa (October 30 2005). Snowstorm packs October surprise. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
February in Boston has seen 70 °F (21 °C) only once in recorded history, on February 24, 1985. The maximum temperature recorded in March was 90 °F (32 °C), on March 31, 1998. Spring in Boston can be hot, with temperatures in the high 90s when winds are from offshore, though it is just as possible for a day in late May to remain in the lower 40s due to cool ocean waters. The hottest month is July, with an average high of 82 °F (28 °C) and average low of 66 °F (18 °C), with conditions usually humid. The coldest month is January, with an average high of 36 °F (2 °C) and an average low of 22 °F (-6 °C).Boston Daily Normals. NWS Taunton, MA (2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-19. Periods exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) in summer and below 10 °F (−12 °C) in winter are not uncommon, but rarely prolonged. The record high temperature is 104 °F (40 °C), recorded July 4 1911. The record low temperature is -18 °F (-28 °C), recorded on February 9 1934.Boston Temperature Records. NWS Taunton, MA (2006). Retrieved on 2006-02-09.
The city averages about 42 in (108 cm) of rainfall a year. It also coincidentally averages about 42 in (108 cm) of snowfall a year, although this increases dramatically as one goes inland away from the city.Massachusetts—Climate. city-data.com (Thomson Gale) (2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-29. Massachusetts\' geographic location\'s jutting out into the North Atlantic also makes the city very prone to Nor\'easter weather systems that can produce much snow and rain.Weather. City of Boston Film Bureau (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-29. Fog is prevalent, particularly in spring and early summer, and the occasional tropical storm or hurricane can threaten the region, especially in early autumn.
| Weather averages for Boston, Massachusetts | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 36 (2) | 38 (3) | 45 (7) | 56 (13) | 67 (19) | 77 (25) | 82 (28) | 80 (27) | 73 (23) | 63 (17) | 52 (11) | 41 (5) | 59 (15) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 22 (-6) | 23 (-5) | 31 (-1) | 40 (4) | 50 (10) | 59 (15) | 65 (18) | 64 (18) | 57 (14) | 47 (8) | 38 (3) | 27 (-3) | 44 (7) |
| Precipitation inch (mm) | 3.8 (97) | 3.5 (89) | 4.0 (102) | 3.7 (94) | 3.4 (86) | 3.0 (76) | 2.8 (71) | 3.6 (91) | 3.3 (84) | 3.3 (84) | 4.4 (112) | 4.2 (107) | 42.9 (1,090) |
| Source: WeatherbaseWeatherbase: Historical Weather for Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. Weatherbase (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-04. Feb 2007 | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1790 | 18,320 | ||
| 1800 | 24,937 | 36.1% | |
| 1810 | 33,787 | 35.5% | |
| 1820 | 43,298 | 28.1% | |
| 1830 | 61,392 | 41.8% | |
| 1840 | 93,383 | 52.1% | |
| 1850 | 136,881 | 46.6% | |
| 1860 | 177,840 | 29.9% | |
| 1870 | 250,526 | 40.9% | |
| 1880 | 362,839 | 44.8% | |
| 1890 | 448,477 | 23.6% | |
| 1900 | 560,892 | 25.1% | |
| 1910 | 670,585 | 19.6% | |
| 1920 | 748,060 | 11.6% | |
| 1930 | 781,188 | 4.4% | |
| 1940 | 770,816 | -1.3% | |
| 1950 | 801,444 | 4.0% | |
| 1960 | 697,197 | -13.0% | |
| 1970 | 641,071 | -8.1% | |
| 1980 | 562,994 | -12.2% | |
| 1990 | 574,283 | 2.0% | |
| 2000 | 589,141 | 2.6% | |
| Est. 2006 | 590,763 | 0.3% | |
According to the censusAmerican FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. of 2000, there were 589,141 people, (the population estimate of 2006 was 596,638 people),2005 challenges. United States Census Bureau (February 16 2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-28. 239,528 households, and 115,212 families residing in the city. The population density was 12,166 people per square mile (4,697/km²). Of major US cities,Includes only cities larger than 250,000 only New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago have a greater population density than Boston.[http://www.demographia.com/db-us90city100kdens.htm US Cities Over 100,000: Ranked by Population Density: 1990]. Wendell Cox Consultancy. Retrieved on 2007-10-01. There were 251,935 housing units at an average density of 5,203 per square mile (2,009/km²).
However, the population of Boston can grow during the daytime to about 1.2 million. This fluctuation of people is caused by suburban residents traveling to the city for work, education, medical purposes, and special events.Boston\'s Population Doubles—Every Day (pdf). Boston Redevelopment Authority—Insight Reports (December 1996). Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
According to the 2000 census, the racial makeup of the city was 49% Non-Hispanic White, 25% African-American or Black, 8% Asian-American, 1% Native American, 4% from other races, and 3% from two or more races. 14% of the population was Hispanic or Latino who can be of any race.
People of Irish descent form the largest single ethnic group in the city, making up 15.8% of the population, followed by Italians, accounting for 8.3% of the population. People of West Indian ancestry are another sizeable group, at 6.4%,Boston city, Massachusetts — DP-2, Profile of Selected Social Characteristics: 2000. United States Census Bureau (2000). Retrieved on 2007-05-04. about half of whom are of Haitian ancestry. Some neighborhoods, such as Dorchester, have received an influx of Vietnamese residents in the past few years.
There were 239,528 households, out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 27.4% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.9% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.17.Boston city, Massachusetts — DP-1, Profile of General Demographics Characteristics: 2000. United States Census Bureau (2000). Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
In the city the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 16.2% from 18 to 24, 35.8% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,629, and the median income for a family was $44,151. Males had a median income of $37,435 versus $32,421 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,353. 19.5% of the population and 15.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 25.6% of those under the age of 18 and 18.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.Boston city, Massachusetts — DP-3. Profile of Selected Economic Characteristics: 2000. United States Census Bureau (2000). Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
Boston has a strong mayor system in which the mayor is vested with extensive executive powers. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by plurality voting. The city council is elected every two years. There are nine district seats, each elected by the residents of that district through plurality voting, and four at-large seats. Each voter casts up to four votes for at-large councilors, with no more than one vote per candidate. The candidates with the four highest vote totals are elected. The president of the city council is elected by the councilors from within themselves. The school committee for the Boston Public Schools is appointed by the mayor.The Boston Public Schools at a Glance: School Committee. Boston Public Schools (March 14 2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-28. The Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Zoning Board of Appeals (a seven-person body appointed by the mayor) share responsibility for land-use planning.A Guide to the City of Boston\'s Zoning Board of Appeal Process. City of Boston (October 2000).
In addition to city government, numerous state authorities and commissions play a role in the life of Bostonians, including the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). As the capital of Massachusetts, Boston plays a major role in state politics. The city has several properties relating to the United States federal government, including the John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building and the Thomas P. O\'Neill Federal Building.Massachusetts Federal Buildings. United States General Services Administration (February 1 2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-29. The city also serves as the home of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, as well as the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (the First District of the Federal Reserve). The city is in the Eighth and Ninth Congressional districts.Massachusetts\'s Representatives—Congressional District Maps. GovTrack.us (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
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The city has seen a great reduction in violent crime since the early 1990s. Boston\'s low crime rate in the last years of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first has been credited to its police department\'s collaboration with neighborhood groups and church parishes to prevent youths from joining gangs, as well as involvement from the United States Attorney and District Attorney\'s offices. This helped lead in part to what has been touted as the "Boston Miracle." Murders in the city dropped from 152 in 1990 (for a murder rate of 26.5 per 100,000 people) to just 31—not one of them a juvenile—in 1999 (for a murder rate of 5.26 per 100,000). In more recent years, however, the annual murder count has fluctuated by as much as 50% compared to the year before, with 60 murders in 2002, followed by just 39 in 2003, 64 in 2004, and 75 in 2005. Though the figures are nowhere near the high-water mark set in 1990, the aberrations in the murder rate have been unsettling for many Bostonians and have prompted discussion over whether the Boston Police Department should reevaluate its approach to fighting crime.Winship, Christopher (March 2002). End of a Miracle? (pdf). Harvard University. Retrieved on 2007-02-19.Boston Police Department\'s Monthly Crime Statistics. CityOfBoston.gov (2005). Retrieved on 2007-02-19.Boston MA Crime Statistics (2004—New Crime Data). areaConnect.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
Boston\'s colleges and universities have a major impact on the city and region\'s economy. Not only are they major employers, but they also attract high-tech industries to the city and surrounding region, including computer hardware and software companies as well as biotechnology companies like Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co., Millipore, Genzyme, and Biogen Idec. According to a 2003 report by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, students enrolled in Boston\'s colleges and universities contribute $4.8 billion annually to the city\'s economy.Leadership Through Innovation: The History of Boston\'s Economy (pdf). Boston Redevelopment Authority (2003). Retrieved on 2007-04-18. Boston also receives the highest amount of annual funding from the National Institutes of Health of all cities in the United States.Top 100 NIH Cities. SSTI.org (2004). Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
Data from City-Data.comBoston Economy. City-Data.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-20.
Tourism comprises a large part of Boston\'s economy. In 2004 tourists spent $7.9 billion and made the city one of the ten most popular tourist locations in the country. Other important industries include financial services, especially mutual funds and insurance. Boston-based Fidelity Investments helped popularize the mutual fund in the 1980s, and has made Boston one of the top financial cities in the United States. The city is also the regional headquarters of major banks such as Bank of America and Sovereign Bank, and a center for venture capital. State Street Corporation, which specializes in asset management and custody services, is headquartered in the city. Boston is also a printing and publishing center — Houghton Mifflin is headquartered within the city, along with Bedford-St. Martin\'s Press, Beacon Press, and Little, Brown and Company. The city is home to four major convention centers: the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay, the Bayside Expo Center in Dorchester, and the World Trade Center Boston and Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the South Boston waterfront. Because of its status as a state capital and the regional home of federal agencies, law and government is another major component of the city\'s economy.
Major companies headquartered within the city include the Liberty Mutual insurance company, Gillette (now owned by Procter & Gamble), and Teradyne, one of the world\'s leading manufacturers of semiconductor and other electronic test equipment. New Balance has its headquarters in the city. Boston is also home to management consulting firms The Boston Consulting Group, Monitor Group, and Bain & Company, as well as the private equity group Bain Capital.This is BCG — History — 1963. The Boston Consulting Group (2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-22. Other major companies are located outside the city, especially along Route 128.Cities of the World—Boston Economy. city-data.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-28. The Port of Boston is a major seaport along the United States\' east coast, and is also the oldest continuously-operated industrial and fishing port in the Western Hemisphere.About the Port—History. Massport (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-28. Boston is classified as a "Gamma world city" by a study group at Loughborough University in England.
Partial map of colleges and universities within Boston\'s Inner Core
Boston\'s reputation as the Athens of America derives in large part from the teaching and research activities of more than 100 colleges and universities located in the Greater Boston Area,About Boston. Bunker Hill Community College (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-01. with more than 250,000 students attending college in Boston and Cambridge alone.Visitors Guide to Boston. SearchBoston.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-19. Within the city, Boston University exudes a large presence as the city\'s fourth-largest employer,Largest Employers in the City of Boston. Boston Redevelopment Authority (1996-1997). Retrieved on 2007-06-01. and maintains a campus along the Charles River on Commonwealth Avenue and its medical campus in the South End. Northeastern University, another large private university, is located in the Fenway district. Wheelock College, Simmons College, Emmanuel College, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Wentworth Institute of Technology, founding members of the Colleges of the Fenway, are adjacent to Northeastern University. Suffolk University, a small private university known for its law school, maintains a campus on Beacon Hill. New England School of Law, a small private law school located in the theater district, was originally established as America\'s only all female law school.History of NESL. New England School of Law (2006). Retrieved on 2007-03-21. Emerson College, a small private college with a strong reputation in the fields of performing arts, journalism, writing, and film, is located nearby on Boston Common. Boston College, whose original campus was located in South Boston, moved its campus west to a site that straddles the Boston(Brighton)-Newton border. Boston College is expanding further into the Brighton neighborhood following the purchase of adjacent land from the Boston Catholic Archdiocese.Laczkoski, Michelle (February 27 2006). BC outlines move into Allston-Brighton. The Daily Free Press (Boston University). Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
Boston is also home to several conservatories and art schools, including the Art Institute of Boston, Massachusetts College of Art, and the New England Conservatory of Music (the oldest independent conservatory in the United States).A Brief History of New England Conservatory. New England Conservatory of Music (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-28. Other conservatories include the Boston Conservatory, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Berklee College of Music. Boston has one major public university, the University of Massachusetts Boston, located on Columbia Point in Dorchester, while Roxbury Community College and Bunker Hill Community College are the city\'s two community colleges.
Several major nati
