The last part of this project considers a more microscopic view of the Boston urban surroundings, in the downtown crossing area, a circle of 1 mile radius centered on the downtown heart of the MBTA (Map 21). Two major issues guided the mapping effort that attempts to reveal a socioeconomic story:  display the distribution of ethnic groups within the Downtown Crossing and display the distribution of housing within the Downtown Crossing.
 
 

Maps 22 to 25 display the proportions of Whites, Blacks, Asians-Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics in the Downtown Crossing Area (data source, U.S. Census Bureau block group data).
 

(Click the map to see details.) Map 22. Distribution of Whites in Downtown Crossing

(Click the map to see details.) Map 23. Distribution of Blacks in Downtown Crossing

(Click the map to see details.) Map 24. Distribution of Asians/Pacific Islanders in Downtown Crossing

(Click the map to see details.) Map 25. Distribution of Hispanics in Downtown Crossing

The white population dominates the harbor front (Map 22).  The lowest concentrations of black population appear to be centered in block groups not containing the highest concentrations of white population (Maps 22 and 23).  Asian/Pacific Islanders, mostly Chinese, have settled in "China Town" at the south end of the Downtown Crossing Area (Map 24). In China Town, home and business often share the same site.  With other ethnic groups, home and business are typically separated.  Thus, cross-cultural comparisons based on quantitative analyses of numerical data is difficult as concentration of activity is not accounted for consistently in such analyses. In cases where numerical associations are clouded by subtle cultural cross currents, it can be important to use the evidence of maps to look for pattern in graphic evidence not readily discernable in the underlying  databases.

In the Downtown Crossing Area, there are numerous rental units.  The ratio of owners to renters, as shown in Figure 5, is about 2.5:1.  Like most metropolitan cities in the U.S., the proportion of renters occupying downtown units is much higher than the proportion of owners occupying downtown units.
 
 

What are the implications of this fact for the residents of China Town, where home and business may share the same unit?  Are residents of China Town typically property owners whose home-based businesses might help to build an enduring cultural enclave and offer the sort of stability that comes from commercial and residential continuity?  Or are they typically renters, dependent on low rental fees in order to survive?  The answer is important.  In the former case, a stable enclave helps to build a vibrant south end of the Downtown Crossing Area.  In the latter case, transient renters seek the lowest rental fees thereby simultaneously jeopardizing residential and commercial stability of this region of Boston.
 
 

(Click the map to see details.) Map 26. Distribution of Renters in Downtown Crossing

(Click the map to see details.) Map 27. Distribution of Rental Fees in Downtown Crossing

Maps 26 and 27 suggest an expected association between renters and rental fees:  renters go where the rental fees are low.  Map 28 couples this idea with the concentration of the Asian population in the Downtown Crossing area.  It suggests a strong association between low rent and the high concentration of activity in China Town:  it appears that the bleak simultaneous jeopardy scenario is the one that is in force. Map 29 also offers spatial evidence in moderate support of this idea, as well.  When this scenario is coupled with data more current than the 1990 data on which this map was based, it might serve as a guide to more focused numerical research that disaggregates the multiple use of residential and business in the south end of the Downtown Crossing Area.  Careful analysis might suggest direction to policy makers for enabling greater stability in this region.
 
 

These maps suggest a story.  Will this story affect decision-making and policy analysis in urban development?