Hosting a major convention -- as Boston will do when it hosts the 2004 Democratic National Convention -- is no longer an "all-around win that civic leaders portray it to be."
"The experience has been much the same in cities similar in size and economic foundation to Boston. While hosting the convention inevitably costs more than first estimated - particularly for security - the tangible economic returns and boost in self-image are described as well worth it. But the economic impact is not evenly distributed through all the layers of the metropolitan region, and the civic momentum that the event generates cannot completely erase conflicts that are decades old... For some, all the trophy projects and the attention lavished on being a ''convention city'' contrasted uncomfortably with failing schools and deteriorated neighborhoods beyond the city center."
Thanks to Chris Steins
Read the full story: Conventions don't ensure a windfall
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Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
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University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
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