Is Worcester part of the Boston area? (Springfield, Lowell: sales, how much)

[masssachoicetts]

Lowell is kind of just like... there. Its becoming more infused into Boston than not, especialy with the crazy good deals you can snag up near Lowell. But it functions very much so like a Boston suburb now. I feel back in 1980 or 1990, much less so. But back then it was just a dump.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

It’s all a matter of land area. Saying that Grand Prairie, TX is more populous than Providence is like saying Jacksonville is the country’s 12th most populous city.

Saying Grand Prairie, TX is more populous than Providence is an accurate statement, just as Jacksonville being the country's 12 most populous city is. Has nothing to do with how either city stands on a national importance level. They just. have. bigger populations.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Saying Grand Prairie, TX is more populous than Providence is an accurate statement, just as Jacksonville being the country's 12 most populous city is. Has nothing to do with how either city stands on a national importance level. They just. have. bigger populations.

Yes, but they’re clearly not bigger.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

Yes, but they’re clearly not bigger.

If you are talking city population, they very much are. But I know what you mean.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by massnative71

If you are talking city population, they very much are. But I know what you mean.

Agreed. Same concept in that Portland ME is about a third the size of Worcester but the skyline is slightly bigger.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Originally Posted by johngolf

As a former MAer, I would have said no way Worcester is part of Boston no matter how someone defines anything.

This. I've always considered that part of the state as its own entity as much as I consider western MA the same. For a time I worked in the area. Most residents considered Worcester to be "the city" and very rarely went anywhere near Boston.

That said, what with property price increases people are moving further and further out so more and more places are "becoming" part of Boston as their residents work in the greater Boston area.

I now work with a handful of people living in the Worcester area who make the commute come hell over high water. I don't know how they do it, TBH.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

Lowell is kind of just like... there. Its becoming more infused into Boston than not, especialy with the crazy good deals you can snag up near Lowell. But it functions very much so like a Boston suburb now. I feel back in 1980 or 1990, much less so. But back then it was just a dump.

Still is.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

True enough but I know for a fact many of those aren’t “cities” certainly not what I would call independent cities. Like I know For certain Richardson is just considered a large suburban area. That’s what I was told by a college friend from Richardson. But okay-I guess

They aren't true Scotsman, either. They are absolutely independent cities, though. They have mayors and city councils and all that stuff. Richardson to you means about as much as Quincy to me. Sure, they have different development patterns, but their statuses today are roughly similar. Texas has plenty of cities capable of anchoring an MSA, they just tend to be much further away from each other.

It shouldn't come as a huge surprise that development patterns are different in regions of the country that grew in the 18th and 19th centuries than those that have grown in the 20th and 21st centuries. Worcester was founded in 1722 and grew up as a manufacturing center when its distance to Boston was many multiples of what an ordinary person would travel in a day. Of course it was going to be "independent" of Boston. The same is true of Providence, and Lowell, and Lawrence, and Brockton. Today, though? All of those cities are well within the commuting distance of Boston. As global capital drives most growth in the region, they can either transition to become part of that growth or go the way of too-removed independent cities like Springfield.

So Worcester maybe wasn't part of the Boston area even a generation ago, but now it's probably only doing as well as it is because it is close to Boston. Shrewsbury, which is right next to Worcester, probably has more people commuting east than it does commuting west. Same all the way to Boston.

https://www.mass.gov/files/documents...and%202016.pdf

[mdovell]

Too removed? Springfield is connected to I91. That connects umass Amherst, Hartford and new haven. The region is more connected to CT. Just like the Berkshires is more with NY.

The time it takes me to get to boston is the same to get to new haven and Albany (90 minutes. Assuming no traffic)

There are NY and CT based chains and businesses that are more in western mass. Same with TV and radio

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Too removed? Springfield is connected to I91. That connects umass Amherst, Hartford and new haven. The region is more connected to CT. Just like the Berkshires is more with NY.

The time it takes me to get to boston is the same to get to new haven and Albany (90 minutes. Assuming no traffic)

There are NY and CT based chains and businesses that are more in western mass. Same with TV and radio

"Too removed" means you can't commute to Boston from Springfield. Just like you couldn't commute to Boston from Worcester in the 18th century.