Heart of the City Final Report
THE HEART OF THE CITY BY ASHLEY G. LANFER WORKING PAPER 9 November 22, 2003 RAPPAPORT INSTITUTE FOR GREATER BOSTON JOHN F. KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT HARVARD UNIVERSITY RAPPAPORT INSTITUTE FOR GREATER BOSTON …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………….. PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the past generation, the City of Boston been part of an historic urban renaissance in the United States. After years of serious decline, when businesses and population fled the city as racial and social problems festered, Boston has used its strategic location, priceless institutional assets, and grassroots know-how to offer a vital place to live, work, and enjoy cultural and community life. At a time when government is denigrated in the political discourse, Boston City Hall has developed programs and policies that have won acclaim for their pragmatism and effectiveness — including community policing, Main Streets business districts, nonprofit housing development, public-private partnerships in hospitals and community health centers, building-level reform of public schools, a small but significant growth in school choice, devel- opment of whole new neighborhoods and transit systems, and a renewal of citywide park sys- tems. These programs and strategies work because they create place-specific approaches to problems, where people are engaged in fixing their own communities and institutions. Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Police Commissioner Paul Evans, Schools Superintendent Thomas Pay- zant, the late Parks Commissioner Justine Liff, and others have provided very real leadership from City Hall — as have community leaders in all neighborhoods and even field of endeavor. One of the areas to experience the most striking renaissance is the area that we call the Heart of the City.
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