Population Growth and Ethnic Diversity
Despite Boston’s population hit a century low (2,806,000) in the
beginning of the 1980s, the 80s was, indeed, the decade that Boston begin to
experience tremendous growth, in terms of population and economy. And such
tremendous population growth would later become a key factor/impetus in
determining the direction of modern Boston’s urban developments. Like many other
east coast and mid-western cities, Boston experienced numerous foreign
immigrations of not only Europeans, but also Asians. There were, basically, two
key reasons that drove Boston’s significant population increase in the 80s: new
federal immigration policies, and economic/employment opportunities.
In 1965, not only the Immigration Act of 1965 was passed and
world events, such as the Vietnam War, the end of communism in Eastern Europe,
and poverty and political instability in the Caribbean Islands and foreign
immigration, from Central America, Asia, and South America to Boston. Also along
with the amnesty for Chinese scholars who seek political sheltering after the
Tiananmen Square massacre and low wage labor recruiting in Brazil drove the
educational and industrial boom of Boston in the early 90s. The increase in
foreign immigration also created the famous “Boston Renaissance” in ethnic
neighborhoods like South End, North End, and Chinatown also contributed to the
well-known “Massachusetts Miracle” that revived the declining local economy.
[1] [2]
references:
1. Governing Massachusetts: Uneven Development and Politics in Metropolitan Boston Cynthia Horan and Andrew E. G. Jonas Economic Geography , Vol. 74, Special Issue for the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Boston, Massachusetts, 25-29 March 1998 (1998), pp. 83-95
2. 1980-Present: Cosmopolitan City | People, Places & Planning in Boston. (n.d.). People, Places & Planning in Boston. Retrieved March 7, 2013,
from http://planningboston.org/eras/1980-present/
beginning of the 1980s, the 80s was, indeed, the decade that Boston begin to
experience tremendous growth, in terms of population and economy. And such
tremendous population growth would later become a key factor/impetus in
determining the direction of modern Boston’s urban developments. Like many other
east coast and mid-western cities, Boston experienced numerous foreign
immigrations of not only Europeans, but also Asians. There were, basically, two
key reasons that drove Boston’s significant population increase in the 80s: new
federal immigration policies, and economic/employment opportunities.
In 1965, not only the Immigration Act of 1965 was passed and
world events, such as the Vietnam War, the end of communism in Eastern Europe,
and poverty and political instability in the Caribbean Islands and foreign
immigration, from Central America, Asia, and South America to Boston. Also along
with the amnesty for Chinese scholars who seek political sheltering after the
Tiananmen Square massacre and low wage labor recruiting in Brazil drove the
educational and industrial boom of Boston in the early 90s. The increase in
foreign immigration also created the famous “Boston Renaissance” in ethnic
neighborhoods like South End, North End, and Chinatown also contributed to the
well-known “Massachusetts Miracle” that revived the declining local economy.
[1] [2]
references:
1. Governing Massachusetts: Uneven Development and Politics in Metropolitan Boston Cynthia Horan and Andrew E. G. Jonas Economic Geography , Vol. 74, Special Issue for the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Boston, Massachusetts, 25-29 March 1998 (1998), pp. 83-95
2. 1980-Present: Cosmopolitan City | People, Places & Planning in Boston. (n.d.). People, Places & Planning in Boston. Retrieved March 7, 2013,
from http://planningboston.org/eras/1980-present/