Boston Annexations

BostonUrbEx

BostonUrbEx

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For all talk of annexations of the past or future/dreams.


Here's my little fantasy land:

Code: 
BOSTON		  617,594	 48.43 sq mi	12,752   /sq mi
BROOKLINE	   58,732	  6.8  sq mi
WATERTOWN	   31,915	  4.1  sq mi
CAMBRIDGE	  105,162	  6.43 sq mi
BELMONT		   24,729	  4.7  sq mi
ARLINGTON	   41,144	  5.2  sq mi
SOMERVILLE	   75,754	  4.1  sq mi
MEDFORD		   56,173	  8.1  sq mi
EVERETT		   37,269	  3.4  sq mi
MALDEN		   59,450	  5.1  sq mi
CHELSEA		   35,177	  2.2  sq mi
REVERE		   51,755	  5.9  sq mi
WINTHROP	   17,497	  2.0  sq mi

TOTAL		1,212,351	106.46 sq mi	11,387.85/sq mi

NEW YORK CITY   8,175,133	304.8  sq mi	27,532   /sq mi
CHICAGO		2,695,598	227.2  sq mi	11,864.4 /sq mi


I doubt that Brookline, Belmont, Cambridge, or Arlington would ever be a part of such shenanigans, though. :rolleyes: Of the others, there's at least a [very] slim chance.

I think Chelsea and Everett would be pretty good, and they're probably most likely to accept an annexation.

Other than a bigger pool for funding and a more centralized method of urban planning, what other benefits (or disadvantages) would come with annexation? Obviously there's disadvantages for Brookline and Belmont, but I mean for Chelsea, Revere, Malden, Medford, etc...
 
Nobody's ever asked Somerville (to my knowledge), but I'm sure we'd say a strong No if this was put to a referendum. We like to think we have a cultural distinctiveness and strong civic culture that would be lost if we were absorbed into a much larger city.

We also have only a narrow boundary with Boston, and the part of Somerville closest to that boundary has little in common with the neighboring part of Boston (Charlestown).
 
I've always wondered what would have happened if Brookline town meeting hadn't defeated the annexation referendum. Cambridge and Somerville didn't have the same practical need as the towns that were annexed in the 1870's (in terms of sewers, etc.), so it wouldn't have had the same level of priority. But would there have been a sense of manifest destiny for Boston continuing to expand outward, eating up all the cities and towns in the way? Ultimately, I think continued consolidation would have more in common with that of New York in the 1890's than the wave of annexations in the 1870's (Allston, Brighton, Roxbury, Dorchester, Brookline*, etc.).
 
Cambridge has long had its own water system and reservoirs, so it would have not had that reason to annex to Boston.
 
You guys are missing the point. If these towns were all annexed, Boston would have bigger numbers. Bigger numbers are more impressive, ergo Boston would be a better city.
QED
 
The only number I care about there got smaller.
 
Justin7 said:
The only number I care about there got smaller.
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Only by 1000. And my theory is that the areas absorbed by Boston which aren't very dense would then become denser. Perhaps creating an even denser city than we have now.

*cough* Brookline is a mere 8,637.0/sq mi *cough*
 
I've played around with these numbers as well.

Massachusetts having a long time ago adopted and stuck to British style municipalities (small in land area, each with their individual centers). Good or bad, this means that most areas have their unique, firmly entrenched identities. For instance, I doubt many Cantabrigians would be too keen to be swallowed up by Boston. Same thing for Somerville.

I think that ultimately the best course of action would be a reinstatement of county government with controls over planning and transit or giving the MAPC broad powers for planning that can't be easily overridden by the individual towns. Too many cities are towns are all too happy to want to preserve their low-density, suburban atmosphere, passing the buck to other cities.

Ultimately, what is needed is a planning agency with broad powers to create a long term, inner-128 wide plan. It should have the ability to overrule municipal planning committee decisions if its decided that that such a local plan would contravene the overarching goals of a regional plan. This would have the ability to keep cities and their identities intact but allow the region to move forward on certain regional issues like transit.

Fact is, a large-scale amalgamation into a larger Boston is never going to happen. However, I do think that some structural changes are needed so that cities and towns in the immediate vicinity of Boston stop thinking solely about themselves and think more about what's better for the region.

At least, that's my wishful thinking.
 
Counties aren't the answer, at least not the county boundaries we have now. The Boston area even just within 128 includes parts of Suffolk, Middlesex, Norfolk, and Essex counties. The latter three counties stretch out into rural areas far from Boston.

Norfolk County consists of three discontiguous pieces: Brookline, Cohasset, and the rest of the county.

Even Plymouth County has a section pretty close to Boston, containing Hingham and Hull.
 
*cough* Brookline is a mere 8,637.0/sq mi *cough*
Click to expand...

North Brookline is plenty dense...census tracts in the 30k/sqmi range (or higher).

And trying to densify Sobro - other than eventual expansion of Hancock Village - would be like purposefully casting shadows on Boston Common.
 
Especially since much of South Brookline is golf courses, both private (The Country Club) and public (Putterham Meadows).
 
We're going in the wrong direction - I want secessions ... cut Boston off at Washington Street ...
 
JohnAKeith said:
We're going in the wrong direction - I want secessions ... cut Boston off at Washington Street ...
Click to expand...

But then city workers and politicians couldn't get away with living idyllic lives in West Roxbury at the expense of every other neighborhood!
 
Cut it off at Washington Street? You want to remove Boston Medical Center from the city limits?
 
The whole east boston / revere /wonderland area confuses me. Where do cities start and end? Who knows. Make it all Boston.

And take part of somerville too. Sullivan Square is Boston, but nobody really knows that. Eat more of somerville, and it will make sense.
 
^^ A natural boundary (the Belle Isle Marsh), now obscured by petrochemical facilities, the McClellan Highway (Rt 1A), and Suffolk Downs, separate East Boston form Revere.
 
Beton Brut said:
^^ A natural boundary (the Belle Isle Marsh), now obscured by petrochemical facilities, the McClellan Highway (Rt 1A), and Suffolk Downs, separate East Boston form Revere.
Click to expand...

Sales Creek to be exact...which flows in the middle of the petroleum facility, through Suffolk Downs, and into the marsh. Only ever becomes a problem when there is fire/police/ems action but that's extremely rare.


Anyone know of the last time there was an annexation movement for Boston? The feds tried it in the 70s to get rid of the problem of Chelsea(literally- no more Chelsea buildings and all).
 
When Chelsea went into receivership in 1991, there was some talk about whether it should be annexed to Boston instead of having its local government reconstituted, but that didn't go much of anywhere.
 
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