Urban Renewal in Boston the West End and Government Center Boston's West End is the most well documented neighborhood destroyed by urban "renewal," made famous initially by Herbert Gans's book, The Urban Villagers, 1962. Although approximately 63 percent of the families displaced by urban renewal were African-American or Hispanic, this Boston community was mainly inhabited by working class Italians. It was a little piece of Italy, with narrow winding streets alive with urban social life. Too crowded …showed first 75 words of 658 total…

…showed last 75 words of 658 total…related to other areas. To those of us working in Massachusetts who knew the history of the BRA and the North End, it was a particularly scathing critique. I hope this helps. I would be very interested in what you find because I think the *Urban Villagers* has become as important for its symbolism as for its insights into community. David L. Ames Professor of Urban Affairs and Geography University of Delaware Bibliography me andu