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I don’t think Boston’s budget is actually that big compared to similarly sized cities. It’s tricky since universities and hospitals can’t be taxed and together, those things take up a lot of land and jobs in the city.
Mass and Cass themselves don’t have many people in them right now. Not sure about the nearby streets to the south. There’s still a decent amount of litter but fewer junkies I think.
I mean I havent been by mass and cass in about 4 years now. I avoid Cass like the plague because its a deathtrap.
I'd take DC off that list, in no way or form should it be mentioned in the same sentence as San Francisco in cleanliness. SF and LA both are glaringly dirty cities arriving from the nation's capital. Boston is a very clean city much like Chicago and Washington DC, and has a prestigious upscale feel to it. Major "boutique" cities as such like Boston should be kept up nice.
DC may not be SF or LA. But, it's not on par with Boston when it comes to homelessness. Compare Union Station to South Station. Many of DCs downtown parks and greenspaces are basically homeless encampments.
I suspect a few things are at play:
1) Boston's weather and relative isolation discourage it being a magnet for homelessness relative to other cities.
2) Boston is extremely wealthy in the tourist core. The city residents and businesses frankly wouldn't tolerate encampments in Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, etc. By contrast, DCs core is mostly an office district. There just isn't the same pressure to clean up say McPherson Square. Union Station merchants have essentially thrown in the towel as the food court and retail scene have collapsed. Boston tends to indirectly push more if it's homeless population to out of the way places like Case and Mass.
3) For a variety of reasons, Boston just has a lot less social disorder than other cities. With roughly similar populations, DC has 227 homicides in 2021 compared to 40 in Boston. Obviously there isn't a simple link between homeless and homicides (SF and Sea are examples). But, there is some communality in terms of a local disadvantaged population that is suspectable to adverse circumstances.
Central Square is probably the place where vagrants and pedestrians co-mingle the most. The area around Chinatown Station and Tufts Medical used to have more, but I think both were better about it last time I was there.
Last edited by Boston Shudra; 09-25-2022 at 02:21 PM..
Was recently back in Boston. As a West Coast resident, couldn't believe how clean it was. Walked all over downtown and the Back Bay, didn't see a single tent. No poop on the street, even the subway was clean. Was shocking compared to what I've seen in SF, Seattle, Austin, DC, and other cities. I got on the T and no one was sleeping, eating on the train, and there was no pee runnnig down the aisles or anything. Is it the weather? Respect for public space?
The T underwent a recent deep cleaning. At least not on the orange line... Usually I smell pee, see people eating and literring and graffiti. The rest of the city is very clean but not the ceanest city Ive been too.
Central Square is probably the place where vagrants and pedestrians co-mingle the most. The area around Chinatown Station and Tufts Medical used to have more, but I think both were better about it last time I was there.
The Common and Downtown Crossing. Aside from Mass and Cass I feel like that has the most
I'd take DC off that list, in no way or form should it be mentioned in the same sentence as San Francisco in cleanliness. SF and LA both are glaringly dirty cities arriving from the nation's capital. Boston is a very clean city much like Chicago and Washington DC, and has a prestigious upscale feel to it. Major "boutique" cities as such like Boston should be kept up nice.
DC is very clean,some of the suburbs not as much but I generally find it cleaner than Boston with a little more homeless but it has not area as decrepit as Mass and Cass.
The Common and Downtown Crossing. Aside from Mass and Cass I feel like that has the most
I haven’t noticed it as much in Downtown Crossing, but maybe I should keep an eye out next time I’m there. I’ve also never had too hard a time in the Common itself, but the area in front of the Tremont Street McDonalds would always be full of panhandlers. Again, haven’t been near there in a bit, though.
Central Square in Cambridge is kinda bad. I think it’s worse than DTX.
In general, I agree with people that Boston isn’t head and shoulders above other cities for cleanliness. It’s true, though that Newbury Street in Back Bay and Charles Street in Beacon Hill are pristine. But even Boylston Street across from the Hynes and in front of Walgreens/CVS would usually have some beggars/homeless last I checked.
I don’t think Boston’s budget is actually that big compared to similarly sized cities. It’s tricky since universities and hospitals can’t be taxed and together, those things take up a lot of land and jobs in the city.
Mass and Cass themselves don’t have many people in them right now. Not sure about the nearby streets to the south. There’s still a decent amount of litter but fewer junkies I think.
I haven’t noticed it as much in Downtown Crossing, but maybe I should keep an eye out next time I’m there. I’ve also never had too hard a time in the Common itself, but the area in front of the Tremont Street McDonalds would always be full of panhandlers. Again, haven’t been near there in a bit, though.
Central Square in Cambridge is kinda bad. I think it’s worse than DTX.
In general, I agree with people that Boston isn’t head and shoulders above other cities for cleanliness. It’s true, though that Newbury Street in Back Bay and Charles Street in Beacon Hill are pristine. But even Boylston Street across from the Hynes and in front of Walgreens/CVS would usually have some beggars/homeless last I checked.
Yea in front of the Boston Public Library are a lot of vagrants, and generally, I see more panhandlers when I visit Bosotn now than I did when I lived there 5 years ago. I see panhandling in place like VFW Pkwy and Seaver Street which I never had in my life.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
DC is very clean,some of the suburbs not as much but I generally find it cleaner than Boston with a little more homeless but it has not area as decrepit as Mass and Cass.
Yeah this is about right. Both places seem very clean to me overall, although DC does have a good amount of rats you'll see, but the streets in both Boston and Washington are among the most well kept I've seen in major cities. By comparison LA is a dump in a lot of places, the freeways look dirty to me. SF already has a rep for dirty streets much like Manhattan.
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