Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is the capital and the largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city is also the county seat of Suffolk County. It is the unofficial capital of the region known as New England as well as one of the oldest and wealthiest cities in the United States, with an economy based on education, health care, finance, and high technology.

Law and government

Boston has a "strong mayor" system in which the mayor is vested with extensive executive powers. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by plurality voting . The City Council is elected every two years. There are nine wards or neighborhood seats, each elected by plurality voting by the residents of that ward. There are four at-large seats. Each voter casts up to four votes for at-large councilors, no more than one vote per candidate, and the candidates with the four highest vote totals are elected. The President of the City Council is elected by the Councilors from within themselves. The School Committee is appointed by the mayor, as are city department heads.

Related Topics:
Mayor - Plurality voting

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Boston has eight sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI): Barcelona (Spain), Hangzhou (People's Republic of China), Kyoto (Japan), Melbourne (Australia), Padua (Italy), Strasbourg (France), Sekondi-Takoradi (Ghana), and Taipei (Taiwan).

Related Topics:
Sister cities - Barcelona - Spain - Hangzhou - People's Republic of China - Kyoto - Japan - Melbourne - Australia - Padua - Italy - Strasbourg - France - Sekondi-Takoradi - Ghana - Taipei - Taiwan

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State and federal agencies

In addition to city government, numerous state authorities and commissions play a role in the life of Bostonians, including the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), which operates Logan International Airport. Since the city is also the capital of Massachusetts, Boston plays a major role in state politics.

Related Topics:
Department of Conservation and Recreation - Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) - Logan International Airport - Massachusetts - State politics

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Boston is also the United States federal government center for New England. Properties include the John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building and the Thomas P. O'Neil Federal Building. The United StatesNational Archives has a regional center in nearby Waltham. The city also serves as the home of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit as well as the headquarters of the 1st District of the Federal Reserve.

Related Topics:
United States - Federal - Government - New England - National Archives - Waltham - United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit - Federal Reserve

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Crime

Boston's low crime rate in the last years of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st has been credited to its police department's collaboration with neighborhood groups and church parishes to prevent youths from joining gangs. In what has been touted as the "Boston Miracle," murders in the city dropped from 152 in 1990 (for a murder rate of 26.5 per 100,000 people) to just 31 — not one of them a juvenile — in 1999 (for a murder rate of 5.26 per 100,000).

Related Topics:
1990 - 1999

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In more recent years, however, the annual murder count has fluctuated by as much as 50% compared to the year before, with 60 murders in 2002, followed by just 39 in 2003 and 64 in 2004. Though the figures are nowhere near the high-water mark set in 1990, the aberrations in the murder rate have been unsettling for many Bostonians and have prompted discussion over whether the Boston Police Department should reevaluate its approach to fighting crime.{{ref|crime}}{{ref|crime2}}{{ref|crime3}}

Related Topics:
2002 - 2003 - 2004

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