As gay bars go, so goes Boston
If you haven't already read Robert David Sullivan's excellent story
from yesterday's Ideas section, please do so immediately. And don't be
deceived by the ostensible subject matter. Gay bars are Sullivan's
immediate focus, but the article's really about the transformation of
cities--including Boston--from hotbeds of human variety to sterile
playgrounds for the affluent. Here's a sampling:
In New York, the Jewish deli - a staple of the city's identity - has
all but vanished. In the Boston area, many of Harvard Square's
bookstores, Kenmore Square's student eateries, and myriad other places
that guaranteed a diverse urban experience have closed their doors,
replaced by a far more uniform lineup of bank branches, chain stores,
and upscale restaurants.
This change is a serious challenge to
the city, which has historically been defined by the breadth and
variety of its street-level experience - and the wide diversity of
people it threw together. "City air makes free," a saying that dates to
medieval times, was a favorite of urban-studies pioneer Jane Jacobs.
But as a wide range of gay bars dwindles to a handful of survivors -
and the city's diners, indie bookstores, and dive bars yield to high
rents and shifting patterns of commerce - that air is becoming the
province of an increasingly narrow set of people.
My
only disappointment is that--because of the article's main subject and
its placement in Ideas instead of on A1 or B1--not as many people will
read this as should. Let's hope the rest of the paper is taking notes, so we can get more stories like Sullivan's and less stories like this.
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