Is Boston The East Coast's Model Ephemeral City?

"The 2000 census revealed that nonfamily households -- made up of those living alone or with unrelated adults -- were now in the majority in Boston for the first time. The city's public schools have experienced an enrollment decline of more than 5,000 students since 2000, and are serving an increasingly poor population, with the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch rising from 62 percent in 1994 to about 75 percent a decade later."

"Boston seems to be following a two-track course: Eager for the expanded tax base and economic activity that comes with new high-end residential development, the city is rolling out the welcome mat for the less-rooted monied class, while trying to convince middle-class families it hasn't given up on them."