Top products from r/boston

You probably won't find someone to talk to you about feminism or BLM randomly in Starbucks, even in Harvard Square. Democracy center may be a good place, but I think the internet and books can be a pretty good source for to start with, so your in-person learning can be more meaningful for both you and the person who ends up taking the time to help you grow into it.


Feminism and BLM are both possible solutions to problems within society. Learning about the problems from the bottom up is a good way to have the necessary context to understand the movements.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander is a must read. amazon link
Michelle also has a good bit of writing on the internet that is accessible.

Speaking of writers on the internet, the tireless journalism of Shaun King has had a real impact in bringing police injustice and BLM to the mainstream, so I think he is a good place to start, too. His Soul Snatchers series, particularly his most recent installment about the NYPD and Bronx DA's criminal conspiracy against Pedro Hernandez is a must read.

Feminism can be hard on the internet, too, because there are so many kinds/sects/schools of thought, but I think it's still a good place to start. I think a good launchpoint is from a context that is close to you, as a man. This guide to how feminism is relevant to men seems like a good starting point. From there, I think learning about feminism by reading articles from a feminist perspective might be a good approach. Academic analyses about feminism are boring and probably won't keep your interest. My favorite source as far as trans-inclusive, pro-gay, pro-safe space feminism is Autostraddle. Yes, it's heavy on queer lady content, but I think it's a good website with years and years and years of content so you can find things that interest you. The politics tab is probably a good place to start, as you can read about issues you may have already read about from mainstream sources, from a more casual and feminist lens.

Good luck.

Woah, easy killer.

Look I get what you're saying. Highways and wide lanes seem like sexy things. That's exactly what I used to think as well before I started learning about urban planning and transit design. There's a lot of intricacies about it but here's some good beginner stuff

First, check out r/urbanplanning. Super interesting sub about the city ecosystem and how to design a successful city.


Books:

"The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs. Basically the bible of city design.

"Walkable City" by Jeff Speck is also an awesome book. That guy is a great presenter as well

Videos:

How Highways Wrecked American Cities

Why Public Transportation Sucks in the US

Why Trains Suck in America

How Closing Roads Could Speed Up Traffic - The Braess Paradox

How to Fix Traffic Forever

Presentations:

Basically any presentation by Jeff Speck

What it boils down to, is you destroy the urban environment by introducing cars. They take up so much room that can be used for dense development but requiring parking sports and wide streets.

Great representation of what car do to cities

This is my last comment here. I can't argue with someone about urban development/planning if they haven't studied the topic themselves. It's a topsy-turvey thing to us living in the post automobile United States, but it makes sense after you do some research.

Enjoy!

That house will definitely give you some character! You will be a tough skinned, fast walking, don't talk to anyone you don't know New Englander in no time!

But seriously though, New England is one of the oldest European occupied locations in North America, we have some old friggin' houses and apartments here. I'm in Rhode Island, although I'm in Boston constantly, but same deal applies. Here are some pro-tips for surviving winter in really old houses.

First, get yourself some shrink wrap plastic for the windows, it's in your local hardware store and even Amazon has some. Don't put this up until at least mid-October though, we can get random 70-80F degree days through Oct. 31, doesn't happen constantly, but it happens. You also want to get some under the door draft stoppers. You can get them for all outside doors or just the door to your bedroom, either way they help.

Next, get yourself multiple layers of blankets for the bed. I do this so I can pull them off/layer them up when late fall/early winter nights spike 55 degrees one night and 25 degrees the next. So it's sheets first, then a thin blanket, then a full quilt and lastly, a thick blanket that sits at the foot of your bed that can be pulled up when freezing at night (or left to just warm your feet). I have a fake fur one that is really thick for the last layer of defense.

Last, dress yourself in warmer clothes! As you are Canadian, I'm sure you can manage this, even if you are from a milder city. But dressing warmly in your own house is the most critical. I have ultra winter lounge pants, these in fact, which are very expensive, but you don't need those in particularly, you can just find furry pants like those. Wear those and thick wool socks when in your house or even sleeping (if it's that cold, I can't sleep in pants personally). I will wear these with a fake fur lined hoodie when home, so if it's really freezing cold you can pull the hood up.

That should help some! Welcome to New England and go Blue Jays...next year we'll get 'em (ugh). I'm a native New Englander but lifelong Jays fan (long story).

I moved up from the south 2 years ago and had the same questions for /r/boston


In typical fashion.......they did the same thing they are doing to you. Laughing, and being dicks instead of trying to help.

My place was old, the heaters were not working, and their were leaking windows everywhere. I bought this

Caulking Cord

and

window kit

and

Heater

I very legally could have gone to the housing authority and reported my landlord for the lack of adequate heating (and broken radiators) but decided that this stuff worked just fine. First winter I couldn't get the house above 62, and some rooms I am sure were much colder. The electric and gas bill was insane.

Second year we just don't even bother using the radiators at all, we use the space heater, a heating blanket, and sealed all the windows and doors (balcony) with that caulk. The house was still cold, but we were warm. This seems to be a common tactic up here, heat yourself not the house.

I also looked into buying one of these bed heater, but I don't want to sweat in the middle of the night and the bedroom is pretty easy to heat with that space heater.

Good luck. Also, most people up here can be dicks when it comes to heating/cold complaints. Just sit back and laugh at what these people call a severe thunderstorm, most of them would shit their pants if they ever experienced a regular summer storm in the south.

Dark Tide is a great book all about the flood and why it happened, both the science and the politics.

Also, the notion that "for nearly 100 years, the Great Molasses Flood has remained a great mystery," is pretty far off the mark.

I 100% agree with your argument about false statistical certainty - this is a tactic people have been using more and more because precision is commonly mis-identified as certainty. Donald Shoup, the great parking policy professor from UCLA, outlines this as a major issue in his parking policy bible and how our entire country's parking volume recommendations and requirements are based on absurdly precise conclusions from statistically insignificant sample sizes.

I guess the only reason I'm taking the time to respond is because of this assumption:

>the total number of rides Uber gets from poorer neighborhoods is much lower than regular cab requests

I challenge this because I'm not sure if you're assuming that people in poorer neighbourhoods don't have smartphones, which is not true. In fact, the biggest reason transit agencies have been able to justify their push for smartphone-based tracking apps is that smartphone use and ownership is more or less equal across incomes and respectably high with low income riders. The only dimension that really varies in smartphone use is age.(Looking for citation - I read this in a report from the NYU Rudin Transportation Policy Center, but they've recently re-arranged their web site.)

Nevertheless, it stands to reason that we may not be getting quite an accurate or fair statistical analysis of the situation, but it certainly does feel like Uber is providing better service. In the least it is much more transparent about costs and has much more granular data available for it to mine.

William Martin has some fabulous fiction books that weave in historical narrative with the story (generally the main characters point out facts or recall specific historical events in trying to solve clues, much like National Treasure, but with historical accuracy).

Back Bay is an excellent example: http://amzn.com/0446363162

A lot of great thinking on urban parking including the cost it adds to development and the ramifications for livable cities was collected in the book [The High Cost of Free Parking](https://www.amazon.com/High-Cost-Free-Parking-Updated/dp/193236496X). It is a thick tome, but it was suggested to me on reddit and reading it completely changed my view on parking regulations.

​

And shared use parking is a theme of some of the chapters. I think it's usually discussed in shared parking for multiple businesses that have different hours rather than apartments and businesses just because the businesses and residences are frequently in different areas.

I always make this suggestion, although morbid sounding it's actually a fantastic read: The Death of an American Jewish Community: A tragedy of Good Intentions.

It's a great non-fiction book about red-lining practices of Boston's bankers and politicians of the 1950-1960s and its effects on Jewish, Black, and other ethnic communities. SUPER interesting.

They're not. People's incomes might not have kept up, but the actual cost of free parking (and yes, read the book) is too much.

There is a great book "Curse of the Narrows" that talks about the explosion- things that happened are amazing.

This is one of the best books I have ever read and it's all true and about many unsolved crimes in the boston area...This book is the ring leaders confessions release post mortem. An aboslute must read for anyone living in boston.

https://www.amazon.com/Final-Confession-Unsolved-Crimes-Cresta/dp/155553449X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1523299687&sr=8-2&keywords=true+confession+phil+cresta

If you dig that, you'll enjoy this: https://www.amazon.com/Mapping-Boston-Press-Alex-Krieger/dp/0262611732/

Been one of my coffeetable books since forever, and I'm glad to see it's still in print.

[Edit. Oh, and Amazon reminds me I should read https://www.amazon.com/Gaining-Ground-History-Landmaking-Boston/dp/0262534835/ some day.]

Electric usage can vary a lot from person to person. Does it have an electric stove? Dryer? How new is the refrigerator?

I think worst case you would spend a $150/month on electricity, if you basically waste it. You could also get it to be under $40 or even less (at least if you are the only one living there).

Things to do to save money on electricity: use a clothes drying rack instead of a dryer (this is usually the biggest one), replace incandescent bulbs, find and unplug appliances that drain electricity for stand by mode (can be surprisingly significant). The last one can be accomplished using a energy meter like this one; you can actually check these out from many of the libraries around here.

This applies more in the summer, but you can reduce AC usage by opening your windows at night and sucking in as much cool air as possible with a fan (at least until it is hot even at a night...). Then close all the windows and drapes in the morning to block out the sun and warm day-time air.

Some of these obviously require an initial investment; I'll let you figure out if they make sense for you.

Oh, ok! One of the easiest ways to winterize drafty windows is to get the plastic shrink-wrap stuff at a hardware store, something like this.

The Islands of Boston Harbor - Edward Rowe Snow http://www.amazon.com/Islands-Boston-Harbor-Centennial-Editions/dp/1933212853/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1426607624

This should be mandatory reading for all Bostonians. All you youngins don't know shit about the harbor islands and thats were a good chunk of our history happened. You will definitely look at the harbor differently hen you are finished.

Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston would be a nice coffee table selection that also happens to give an exhaustive history of how our city's crazy geography developed. A good choice for anyone new to the city who's interested in the history as well as learning to orient themselves.

Back Bay by William Martin is sorta like a more-believable da vinci code set in historical and modern Boston. I enjoyed it a lot: https://www.amazon.com/Back-Bay-William-Martin/dp/0446363162

get you some James River BBQ sauce
https://www.amazon.com/James-River-BBQ-Sauce-Pack/dp/B004D4UQA8


some oversized Onion rolls, that must be toasted with butter, and some good quality, super thinly sliced roast beef (served at room temp)


http://www.eater.com/2015/9/4/9239371/kellys-roast-beef-sandwich-massachusetts

mayo and cheese optional.

and you will have a decently close version of the Kelly's style roast beef that is popular all over MA, but especially the north shore. Almost all the places use that sauce, or some variety of it

http://www.amazon.com/Gaining-Ground-History-Landmaking-Boston/dp/0262194945

this is a pretty good book. I am sure your local library has a copy

I've never read this book, but I think it's safe to say it takes place in Boston.

I've always wanted this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Gaining-Ground-History-Landmaking-Boston/dp/0262194945

Even the few pages you can preview are fascinating.

You can read to book dark tide if you want more info.
It would probably make a good movie actually...
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Tide-Great-Boston-Molasses/dp/0807050210

If you are in an apartment you may not have some of the options for winterproofing that people are outlining below. Get to Home Depot or your local hardware store and look for Window Insulators or weather kits. Something like this kit. Basically it's a sheet of plastic that you tape to the edges of your window and seal/smooth with a hair dryer. I've had to do this in my apartments and it makes an IMMENSE difference if you have drafty windows. Be careful when removing them in the spring so you don't pull off paint.

I've never read it, but Boston Noir was very well received

> As of right now, the past Obama administration and even the Trump administration the only illegals that being deported are those whom are committing crimes.

"Crimes" are different for people who are white and people who aren't white.

You should check out The New Jim Crow. I doubt you will though, you clearly don't seem like the person interested in knowing about things before you spoke.

You may be interested in the book Mapping Boston.

http://www.amazon.com/Mapping-Boston-Alex-Krieger/dp/0262611732/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414183559&sr=8-1&keywords=mapping+boston

I got this $9 antenna from Amazon, and all the local channels come in (I'm in JP).

It works absolutely fine. My friend/neighbor with a Leaf doesn't get any better reception than I do.

Because the population was smaller and cities were less popular / economically important then. Now they are very important while at the same time we have made building more units illegal, thus raising the cost of housing. The problem is almost entirely political and legal.

For anyone who hasn't read it, Dark Tide is a great book that goes into depth about the lead up, accident, and aftermath.

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Tide-Great-Boston-Molasses/dp/0807050210

This isn't actually a recommendation but I find it hilarious that "Jamaica Plain" exists. It was written by A British guy who has never been to Boston. His agent suggested writing a crime novel set in Boston so he picked the name Jamaica Plain off a map because he thought it sounded cool. He puts a strip club on the banks of Jamaica Pond which is ludicrous to anyone who's seen the pond. He also claims every house sports an American flag while I'd say you're more likely to see rainbow flags.

if you want to use an antenna for basic HD OTA tv, any cheap one will work. I have two of these $7 ones and they pull in HDTV without issue. Don't bother with anything more expensive, you don't need it

There are a bunch of books about the first Boston Subway (first in the nation) which probably provide general transportation history.

https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Cheney/e/B001H6GN4I/

https://www.amazon.com/Race-Underground-Incredible-Rivalry-Americas/dp/1250061350

https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Streets-Boston-Building-Americas/dp/1567922848

Here is the mobile version of your link

Interesting book on the topic

For the readers among us, it was a book first: https://www.amazon.com/Race-Underground-Incredible-Rivalry-Americas/dp/1250061350

Expensive. https://www.amazon.com/James-River-BBQ-Sauce-Pack/dp/B004D4UQA8

http://www.amazon.com/Boston-Noir-Akashic-Dennis-Lehane/dp/1933354917

"Boston Noir" edited by Lehane is a decent anthology.

Dark Tide
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Tide-Great-Boston-Molasses/dp/0807050210

This is the sauce that Nick's, Kelly's, and probably others use: https://www.amazon.com/James-River-BBQ-Sauce-Pack/dp/B004D4UQA8

Here is the book you are looking for: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Life-Great-American-Cities/dp/067974195X

This one too:

http://www.amazon.com/Mapping-Boston-Alex-Krieger/dp/0262611732/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346441847&sr=1-1&keywords=mapping+boston

link

Dude, read Common Ground and tell me that there aren't some residual effects of some of the biggest efforts against desegregation busing in the country. Or just even just this WBUR article about the same thing.

[Dark Tide] (http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Tide-Great-Boston-Molasses/dp/0807050210)

also [The Dante Club] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dante_Club) is a lighter fiction based book in boston

Trickle down economics is bullshit because people hoard wealth. However, no matter how rich you are you're probably only going to live in one unit in any given city. Completely different concepts. We're talking about basic supply and demand.

While I don't agree with all of the arguments in the book, I remember some studies in Triumph of the City. I'd recommend the read.

You can get the landlord to help you out, although it might be like pulling teeth. My suspicion is that they'll come in, crank the heat to 80 with your bedroom door open, go into your room, measure the temperature, and tell you to quit whining. Obviously, living without privacy and/or with the rest of your roomies' living in a tropical sauna isn't the best plan.

Some self-help techniques that might solve the problem for now would include (plastic-ing over the windows)[http://www.amazon.com/3M-Indoor-Window-Insulator-5-Window/dp/B00002NCJI] or getting a space heater for your room.

Actually it’s a pretty half-assed article. Great subject, but the so-called mystery is pure hype. The only revelation, and it’s not much of one, is offering an explanation of the speed that the molasses traveled. But the rest — why the tank collapsed, how people died (duh!), etc. — is explained in detail in “Dark Tide,” a very good book on the subject. Rather shoddy reporting on the part of the Times to be unaware of the book’s existence. But then there wouldn’t have been a “mystery” to write about.

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Tide-Great-Boston-Molasses/dp/0807050210/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480173259&sr=1-2&keywords=dark+tide

Urban renewal, White flight, redlining, and block busting

Here is a book with more on the subject

http://www.amazon.com/The-Death-American-Jewish-Community/dp/0029138663

If you want to learn more about the bussing crisis and the story behind the photo check out the book "Common Ground" by J. Anthony Lukas.

He follows three families; a black family from the South End who's kids are bussed to Charlestown, an Irish family in Charlestown who's daughter leads a lot of the student protests against bussing, and a young socially liberal couple who work in city government and are among the first people to start gentrifying the South End.

Lukas won a Pulitzer for the book and gives you amazing details. When he introduces characters he gives you the history of their family, typically from when the immigrated to the states up to the mid-70s. Amazing book and well worth reading if you're into Boston history.

Here's Lukas's account of what happened.

>At 10:00 a.m. on April 5, 1976 he [Landsmark] was scheduled to chair a community liaison meeting at the Boston Redevelopment Authority. When he couldn't find a parking space and had to leave his car a quarter mile away, he knew he was going to be late, so he steamed along, heading for a side entrance to City Hall. Passing the New England Merchants Bank and entering the plaza he saw a group of young whites rounding the corner of City Hall, moving toward the Federal Courthouse, brandishing banners and placards. Before he could reach the City Hall steps, someone yelled, "There's a nigger! Get him!"

>The first student hit him from the rear, knocking his glasses off. He tried to right himself, but a second blow from the front brought him to the ground. Other students moved in, kicking him in the ribs, the shoulders, the head. He struggled to his feet, but someone grabbed him around the neck and pulled him down again. Once more he got up. Then he saw a student carrying an American flag on a long staff. Advancing across the plaza, the kid leveled the staff like a spear, as if to impale him. It struck him a glancing blow on the face.

>Finally, Landsmark broke free, managing to reach the City Hall steps, where a policeman came to his aid. A moment later they were joined by Deputy Mayor Jeep Jones, who along with Kevin White, had watched the attack from an upstairs window.

from Common Ground, 324-225

you can get a killawatt so that you can keep track of its usage:

http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

its really not that expensive to kick on a small one for a few hours each day... but also if your roommates dont want you running an AC when its 90 degrees out then your roommates can suck it.

Definitely read Common Ground if you want to understand some of worst history of the city. It won a Pulitzer for following three families through the urban decay, racial violence and neglect of the 1970s. You get the perspectives of a white working class Charlestown family trying to stop integration, starry-eyed yuppie South Enders trying to save the city, and a black family trying to survive but falling apart in one of the South End housing projects.

I grew up in Boston in the 70's and 80's. I would point anyone who wants to know more about the racial problems in Boston to these two books:

Common Ground

The Death of an American Jewish Community

On the one hand, I feel defensive because I'm from Boston and I don't consider myself to be a racist. On the other hand, I can admit that yes, there was plenty of racism in Boston in the past and not nearly as much now. It's true, Boston has become a lot more diverse in the past 20 years or so. But, as someone who is white, I'll also add that I've been harassed (chased, spit on, jumped etc.) on numerous occasions by black people in Boston. Boston's racial problems (and really everyone else') are hardly a one way street. Also, economic class plays a huge role in the problem we typically and solely generalize as "racism".

For the record, South Boston was a dump way back in the day and not the kind of place you'd visit if you weren't from there, even if you were white. On that note, Southie, Charlestown and a few of Boston's other old neighborhoods have undergone massive transformations. They have become heavily gentrified and yuppified. One thing that doesn't get much media attention is that the yuppies and few remaining Townies don't mix too well either.

The thing that pisses me off is that I've lived in other parts of the country and had people say to me, "Oh you're from Boston, are you racist?" As if that's not a form of prejudice or stereotyping.