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| Boston Commons Boston is not a part of the agricultural core; however, a different kind of agriculture is emerging in the city, known as urban agriculture. Urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in, or around (peri-urban) town, village, or city. This type of agriculture can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, and horticulture.  The documentary “Planting for Peace: Bury Seeds, Not Bodies” shows the impact of urban agriculture and support from organizations like The Food Project. Urban agriculture in Boston, not only creates new food production and delivery systems, it also involves public health and service. One example is The Food Project, established in 1992, has been bringing young people and adults together to learn about creating new food systems through urban agriculture. They farm 4 acres in 7 urban communities and 36 additional suburban acres. Most recent harvests included over 200,000 pounds of produce, with 50,000 pounds donated to many different hunger relief organizations. The rest is sold via 492 Community Supported Agriculture and 4 farmers markets in low-income neighborhoods.  Innovative approaches to urban farming are also pursued by agricultural entrepreneurs in Boston. One technology is called “Verticrop,” a High Density Vertical Growing System (HDVGS) employed in a controlled environment, such as a glasshouse or warehouse. Plants are grown in a vertical plane in specially designed trays suspended from an overhead track. This system can be adapted successfully to the needs of vegetable, herb, fruit and flower producers. |
CHAPTER 11: The Agricultural Core
CHAPTER 10: The Southern Coastlands
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Like the Southern Coastlands that benefit from tourism and industrial production, Boston, Massachusetts’ tourism comprises a large part of its economy. In 2004, tourists spent $7.9 billion and made the city one of the ten-most-popular tourist locations in the country. The city is also a major seaport along the United States' East Coast and is also the oldest continuously operated industrial and fishing port in the Western Hemisphere. The center of the region's high-tech industry can also be found along Route 128.  Fenway Park  Gold-domed State House Boston is a popular destination, as it is famous from everything, from the Red Sox to Cheers to clam "chowdah.” It is part modern metropolis and part history lesson. It is easy to get around in Boston, either on foot or by the user-friendly public transportation system called the T. Hop on the Freedom Trail, a well-preserved pedestrian path that weaves in and out of historic neighborhoods. It goes around from the lively Boston Common and Public Garden to the gold-domed State House and Fenway Park. Between landmarks, tourists can also shop the stores on Newbury Street or browse the antique shops and distinctive red-brick buildings of Beacon Hill.  Follow the "red-brick path" Freedom Trail Sources: |
CHAPTER 9: The Changing South
The first Africans arrived in Boston in February of 1638, eight years after the city was founded. They were brought as slaves, purchased in Providence Isle, a Puritan colony off the coast of Central America. By 1676 Boston ships had pioneered a slave trade to Madagascar, and were selling black slaves to Virginians in 1678. There were over 400 slaves in Boston by 1705, and the beginning of a free black community in the North End. Boston was about 10 percent black in 1752.
The American Revolution was a turning point in the status of Africans in Massachusetts. At the end of the conflict, there were more free black people than slaves. When the first federal census was enumerated in 1790, Massachusetts was the only state in the Union to record no slaves.
Maria Weston Chapman, active in the Boston Female Anti-Slavery
Society, constant colleague and confidant to Garrison (photo of a portrait, courtesy, Rare Books, Boston Public Library)
The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (1833-1840) was an abolitionist, interracial organization in Boston, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. It made three national women's conventions, organized a multistate petition campaign, sued southerners who brought slaves into Boston, and sponsored profitable fundraisers.Society, constant colleague and confidant to Garrison (photo of a portrait, courtesy, Rare Books, Boston Public Library)
BOSTON-BASED ABOLITIONIST NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM LLYOD GARRISON, 1831-1865
Garrison spoke out articulately and passionately against slavery and for the rights of America's black inhabitants for more than three decades, from the first issue of his weekly paper in 1831, until after the end of the Civil War in 1865 when the last issue was published.
Statue of Garrison (covered in snow), on Commonwealth Ave. in Boston, Massachusetts.
One of the famous Garrison quotes are seen at the base of the statue.
Sources:
CHAPTER 8: Appalachia and the Ozarks
Unlike the Appalachia which relies heavily on the coal production, Massachusetts does not have any coal mines, or any coal companies based in the state. However, the Boston area is a renowned technology hub and home to many energy start-up companies. There are at least two of the area's companies that focus on coal-fired plants and "clean coal" technology, which aims at eliminating various environmental and health impacts of coal.
Connection to Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining
Salem Harbor Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Dominion in Salem, Massachusetts. It purchases coal from companies who practice mountaintop removal mining. The plant is located on a sixty-five acre site and has been operating since 1951. The cities of Boston, Cambridge, Newton, Quincy, Lynn, and Lowell are all within a thirty-mile radius of the Salem Harbor station.
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| Salem Power Station |
"Boston Rallies for a Coal Free Massachusetts"
On October 10, 2010, nine local groups joined Greenpeace to call for a coal-free Massachusetts. Over 150 people joined the call for clean energy and green jobs. They asked the governor to join in shutting down the Salem Harbor coal plant.
Sources:
CHAPTER 7: The Bypassed East
A map of America's eastern seaboard shows a lack of large cities along the coast north of Boston. The interior cities are generally smaller than those along the ocean, and only a few major overland routes extend inland from this coast. This area is referred to as the Bypassed East, comprising the northern New England and Adirondacks of New York.
The Bypassed East and Boston: Their Connection
The Bypassed East and Boston: Their Connection- Bypassed East is close to the Manufacturing Core and Megalopolis such as Boston.
Because of the region’s proximity to Megalopolis, tourism continues to increase, as second-home development arises. City dwellers visit in droves, and some move there permanently.
The Lake Champlain Lowland’s short distance to Megalopolis enables the Lowland to be part of Boston’s milksheds; making it a major milk source for their urban populations.
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Lake Champlain |
- New peripheral areas became part of urban America, as Megalopolis cities such as Boston grew larger. People looked for residences farther away from the core cities, and Megalopolis’ periphery moved out, steadily pushing New England northward.
Boston & the Bypassed East share sceneries such as this
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Rugged open water landscape of Boston harbor |
CHAPTER 5: Manufacturing Core
TIMELINE
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| Boston Harbor |
17th Century
= With its excellent harbor, Boston became the leading commercial center in the colonies. Colonial Boston was a world leader in shipbuilding and the primary port of North America.
18th Century
= The growth of the Boston area continued in the 18th century. As settlements grew into towns around the city, overseas trade increased, and mills were built along the rivers for logging, the forging of iron, and processing wool.
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| Boston Manufacturing Company 1813-1816 |
Boston Manufacturing Company, 1978
19th Century
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Boston Manufacturing Co. Logo in 1918 Image: Textile Brands and Trademarks |
= In 1814, James Cabot Lowell of Boston built a factory in Waltham, up the Charles River from Boston. Later, the Boston Associates built an entire mill town on the Merrimack River, and later named it "Lowell" in memory of James Cabot Lowell.
= Massachusetts prospered in the early 19th century with improved roads, new canals, and the construction of railways, linking cities and towns.
= The Civil War was a profitable time for Boston manufacturers, with the production of weapons, shoes, blankets, and other materials for the troops.
= The late 19th century was Boston's greatest industrial era. As millions of immigrants from around the world came to America, Boston continued as a leading manufacturer of a wide variety of goods and products.
20th Century
= Boston's manufacturing went into a state of decline during the first decade of the 20th century. The once thriving factories and mills had become old and obsolete.
= Prosperity continued in the Hub with the development of service industries, banking and finance, and retailing and wholesaling.
= By the 1950's the Boston area emerged as a leader in the fledgling computer and high-tech industries. Many of these new businesses were created and staffed by graduates of MIT and the other colleges in the Boston area. The financial and service industries continued to expand.
Today, the Boston skyline is brimming with skyscrapers and office towersCHAPTER 4: Megalopolis
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| Satellite view of BosWash at night |
BosWash is a name used by Herman Kahn and Anthony Wiener in a 1967 essay describing a theoretical United States megalopolis that extends from the metropolitan area of Boston to that of Washington, D.C. The Northeast megalopolis or Boston-Washington megalopolis is the heavily urbanized area of the United States stretching from the southern suburbs of Washington, D.C. to the northern suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts.
CHANGING PATTERNS
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| Boston, Massachusetts 1973 1970 Population - 4,013,365 Includes Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Middlesex, and Worcester Counties. NOTE: portions of the above listed counties may not be visible on the map Red areas shown as developed land 329,700 acres (515 square miles) Founded in 1630, Boston is the oldest major metropolitan area in the nation. Because New England was not a prosperous agricultural region, many residents became merchants. By the early 1800s, Boston's ships were trading as far away as China. Irish immigration in the mid-19th century greatly added to the city's population. With the rise of industry, Boston came to specialize in textiles, leather goods, and publishing. Federal research funding to local universities, especially the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), during and after World War II helped spawn new enterprises. One of the Nation's first "high tech" corridors developed around Route 128, an early beltway highway. Computer and electronic industries flourished, bolstered by MIT graduates and capital from Boston's venerable financial institutions.  Boston, Massachusetts 1992 1990 Population - 4,058,246 Includes Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Middlesex, and Worcester Counties. NOTE: portions of the above listed counties may not be visible on the map Red areas shown as developed land 488,900 acres (764 square miles) Urban growth has had extensive impacts on the entire region. High-tech industries tied to the Federal defense budget have experienced a boom and bust cycle that has greatly influenced housing costs. Land easily developed has become more limited for many reasons, including rising speculative costs, sites reserved for cultural and historic values, and the local physical conditions of slope and soil structure. Land use is strictly regulated in many places, especially around water reservoirs. To escape high taxes, many Boston-area residents and businesses have relocated to New Hampshire.  Megalopolis: Urban growth in Boston, with its harbors, large buildings, and access highways |
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