Universities in Boston and Gentrification: Preservation vs. Erasure by Nicole Roach

Boston is heralded as the “Athens of America” due to its elite universities that sprawl across the city and its surrounding neighborhoods. As home to more than 40 colleges and universities and 150,000 students, these flourishing schools have slowly encroached upon surrounding communities. Thus, the construction of these impressive institutions has come at a cost: existing buildings, neighborhoods, and communities have been demolished. So, in the development of these schools, which narratives have been preserved or promoted and which narratives have been erased? This project examines six schools– Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Northeastern University, Suffolk University, and University of Massachusetts Boston– and examines two sites from each to determine which stories and narratives remain and which have been replaced. 

Surprisingly, there are several examples in which college expansion has actally served minority groups or spared a site that advocates for these groups. For instance, at Harvard University, the Old Cambridge Baptist Church serves as a safe space for people of all identities. At MIT, the infamous Stata center helped revive a dying Native American language. So despite the aforementioned hard truths about race relations in Boston, there are certainly some examples of minority advocacy and preservation throughout the city.

Despite these positive examples, the large majority of the sites uncover that the decision for erasure versus preservation often further benefits privileged communities at the expense of minority communities. At Harvard University, the site of the historic Harvard Indian College now houses a freshman dorm. Similarly, at MIT, a dorm is situated where the office of feminist newspaper Sojourner once stood. At Boston University, a relatively newly constructed center for student resources honors Tom Yawkey, the racist former Red Sox owner. At Northeastern University, gentrification along Columbus Avenue has isolated a Roxbury church from its community. At Suffolk University, a historic landmark was purchased for conversion into student housing. Finally, UMass Boston was built where the Columbia Point Housing Projects were once located. Each of these stories demonstrate that as these universities have grown, they have expanded their own agendas while harming the stories and culture of nearby communities.

Aside from just affecting specific historical sites, these schools play a large role in the greater gentrification of Boston, which has been identified as the third most intensely gentrified city in the United States. Typically, gentrification results in the displacement of low to moderate income families due to new development and higher rents in the neighborhood. These trends disproportionately affect black and latino residents.

The issue of gentrification presents an interesting dilemma. When students of Boston schools move off of campus, they gentrify Boston neighborhoods. Though moving off campus should be avoided, the construction of additional housing will only further gentrify the city. Additionally, as evidenced by Harvard’s Matthews Hall, MIT’s Edgerton House, and Northeastern’s Speare Hall, many of the dorms students could live in on their campuses are tied to erased histories. The fault here cannot be blamed on students, however. Though students must be cognizant of how they impact existing communities, the responsibility to enact change rests in the hands of each university.

The relationship between Boston’s privileged universities and the communities it affects speaks to the city’s greater racial problems. As these schools expand, no matter where they go or what is removed in its place, they promote the interests of the already privileged populations that attend their schools. Boston universities flaunt their increasing levels of diversity, but these numbers are largely made up of international students rather than black Americans or other people of color. The national average enrollment of black students in universities is 11%. At the ten largest private universities in Boston, this number is a disturbing 5%. Additionally, these numbers have barely changed in the past 35 years. At Harvard University, the percentage of black students has remained stagnant at 5%. At Boston University, the percentage has rested at 4%. At Northeastern University, the percentage of black students has actually declined.

These statistics are inexcusable, but there are some circumstances that partially explain why this may be the case. First, Boston has a smaller black population to draw from than other major cities. Boston is also an extremely expensive place to live, and because of the city’s extreme wage gap along racial lines, it might be harder for black students to attend these schools. The median net worth for white families in Boston is slightly under $250,000, whereas the median net worth for black families in Boston is just $8. Finally, Boston has a reputation for being racist in general: it has been coined America’s most racist city for decades. 

Regardless of the fact that Boston may not be the most attractive city for black people and other people of color, schools in Boston must do a better job recruiting students from these communities. By committing to admitting more minority students, universities in Boston can reinvest in less privileged communities and compensate for the narratives that they have erased over time.

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