Diarrhea Defecation on Ruggles Train Platform

[shiver916]

I realize this is a ancient thread but since it comes back every now and then I figure it's safe to add my latest "As seen on the T".
Outbound red line train had a group of extremely strung out individuals (3 at first but luckily they picked up a friend a few stops later to make it a quartet. 2 of the guys had very ratty clothes full of holes/tears/filth and one clearly had no underwear on as he was on full display sitting on a pile of bags they brought on board because at least he was gentleman enough to give up his seat for his lady friend. Even after 2 of his colleagues pointed out he was hanging out of his swiss cheese looking pants he made no attempt to cover up.

They got off a couple stops before my destination at Quincy Adams. As I and a good amount of the train got off I was passing the next car up headed for the stairs when I heard what sounded like someone pouring out a drink. A quick look to the right showed a guy standing blocking the doors from closing as he urinated from the train onto the platform. Several people watched him do his thing as he watched them and everyone seemed oblivious to it. Guess these things are the norm now.

Note, this was not a late train out of the city, it was a weekend but at a time when most people are heading into the city rather than out.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Eh. Many towns are dying due to the birthrate. Diversity is shunned as zoning is on a local level what border walls are in a nation. Suburbs are boring with little to offer younger people. As school systems fade the emphasis will be on recreation and elderly care.

You keep bringing this up, but the numbers just don't support it. The suburbs are growing and more diverse than ever. Where exactly is diversity "shunned", outside a few elite towns near Boston that code their phobia as "preservation"? Do you know of other towns (besides the usual "W" suspects") that are this way you describe? In fact, I predict the burbs will continue to diversify, as the city (non-DRM) becomes even more a playground for the wealthy.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by massnative71

You keep bringing this up, but the numbers just don't support it. The suburbs are growing and more diverse than ever. Where exactly is diversity "shunned", outside a few elite towns near Boston that code their phobia as "preservation"? Do you know of other towns (besides the usual "W" suspects") that are this way you describe? In fact, I predict the burbs will continue to diversify, as the city (non-DRM) becomes even more a playground for the wealthy.

I think its a mix of the two, to be honest. You're right that suburbs are diversifying and growing. They'll continue to do so as the diverse populations (particularly today's foreign born and 1st/2nd generation) become more established over time. This has happened with the Irish, Italian, and even the Chinese in Boston. It'll happen with today's newer immigrant populations as well.

That said, the zoning/redlining thing is still an issue. For decades, segregation was written right into housing and lending codes in order to keep white towns and neighborhoods white. It's no longer legal, but it's still a problem that will take generations to undo and reach a real balance.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I think its a mix of the two, to be honest. You're right that suburbs are diversifying and growing. They'll continue to do so as the diverse populations (particularly today's foreign born and 1st/2nd generation) become more established over time. This has happened with the Irish, Italian, and even the Chinese in Boston. It'll happen with today's newer immigrant populations as well.

That said, the zoning/redlining thing is still an issue. For decades, segregation was written right into housing and lending codes in order to keep white towns and neighborhoods white. It's no longer legal, but it's still a problem that will take generations to undo and reach a real balance.

Yes newer groups will follow the same path as their Irish and Italian predecessors, and have already started to in cases. The Brazilians who were once concentrated in Cambridge, Somerville, Allston...are now overwhelmingly suburban (Framingham, Stoughton, Marlborough, Hudson, Woburn, etc.).


We may be still feeling the aftermath of the redlining that went away decades ago, my point is there is no "wall" towns are putting up today like another poster suggested. Unless of course, you are talking the NIMBY-on-steroids towns ie. Lincoln, Sudbury, Dover, Sherborn...that make up a pretty small percentage of the metro's population.