Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Metropolitan Boston's Layers of Development 1
2 Prelude to Suburbia: Traditional Village Centers and Proto-Suburbs (1800-1860) 11
Exploring Traditional Village Centers and Early Suburbs 15
3 Country Retreats (1820-1920) 17
Escaping to the Country 17
The Design of Country Villas 23
Weston and Lincoln: Communities of Country Seats 25
From Summer Resorts to Suburbs: North Shore, South Shore, and Countryside 31
Exploring Country Retreats 37
4 Railroad Suburbs (1840-1920) 41
The First Commuters 41
Frederick Law Olmsted and the Suburban Ideal 50
Victorian Houses in the Suburban Setting 55
Railroad Suburbs Come of Age 59
Concord: A Satellite, Not a Suburb 63
Exploring Railroad Suburbs 64
5 Streetcar Suburbs (1870-1930) 69
The City Spreads Out 69
Development Impacts in Brookline and Beyond 74
The Zone of Emergence and the Three-Decker 79
Streetcar-Driven Growth in Cambridge, Belmont, and Arlington 82
Controlling Growth 84
Exploring Streetcar Suburbs 86
6 Metropolitan Parkway Suburbs (1895-1945) 89
Origins of the Metropolitan Park-and-Parkway System 89
Debate over Regionalization 97
Parkways Shape the Suburban Landscape 99
Country Clubs: Social Stratification in the Suburban Landscape 103
Suburbs in the 1920s and 1930s 107
The Suburban House Becomes "Comfortable" 109
Exploring Metropolitan Parks and Parkways 112
7 Suburban Mill Towns (1820-2012) 115
Boston's Industrial Suburbs 115
Company Towns 120
From Mill Towns to Suburbs 125
New Uses for Old Factories 130
Exploring Industrial Sites 133
8 Postwar Automobile Suburbs (1945-1970) 135
Pent-up Suburban Exodus 135
Living the American Dream 140
Route 128 and the Technology Boom 148
Birth of the Shopping Center 156
From "Stringtowns" to "Strips" 160
Shaping the Postwar Suburban Landscape 164
The Role of Zoning and Land Conservation 170
Exploring Post-World War II Suburbs 175
9 Boston Redefines the Center City (1945-2012) 181
Urban Decline 181
Urban Renewal 185
"World-Class City" 191
Exploring Redevelopment in Boston and Cambridge 198
10 Interstates, Exurbs, and Sprawl (1970-2012) 201
Edge Cities 201
The Interstate-495 Landscape 206
McMansions on the Suburban Frontier 210
Retailing and "Category Killers" 213
Metropolis Edges into Southern New Hampshire 217
The Spread of Exurbia 219
Exploring Exurbia and Sprawl 222
11 The Smart Growth Era (1990-2012) 225
Dukakis Takes on Sprawl 225
Grappling with "Buildout" 229
Reinvigoration of Public Transit and Compact Development 234
Smart Growth and NIMBYism 244
Exploring Smart Growth Development 249
12 Postscript: The Coming Era 253
The Digital Revolution and Metropolitan Development 253
Coping with Climate Change and Expensive Oil 255
Exploring the Metropolitan Landscape: Recommended Sites by Community 261
Notes 269
Index 295
