A Decent Place to Live: From Columbia Point to Harbor Point : A Community History

When Boston's Columbia Point housing project was built in the early 1950s on the isolated edge of Dorchester Bay, it was hailed as a noble government experiment to provide temporary housing for working-class families who had fallen on hard times. By the mid-1970s, the model community had disintegrated and become a symbol of failure, decay, crime, and danger. Today, Columbia Point has been redeveloped as Harbor Point, a privately owned and managed mixed-income, racially-integrated complex that stands handsomely alongside its institutional neighbors, the John F. Kennedy Library and the University of Massachusetts at Boston. A Decent Place to Live chronicles the rise, fall, and rebirth of Columbia Point through the voices of those who struggled to make a life there and who battled to rebuild their community. This absorbing account weaves together engaging narrative, moving personal reminiscences, and 200 illustrations, including family snapshots, posters, blueprints, maps, and aerial photographs, to trace the Point's history from its initial conception, through its decline, to its innovative redevelopment. A fascinating story of people, conflict, continuity, and change, the work captures the rich, yet troubled heritage of Columbia Point and celebrates the aspirations and tenacity of its residents. It reclaims a neglected piece of Boston's history and offers important lessons for urban planner and policymakers nationwide.