The Harvard Crimson :: Allston's Ambivalent Metamorphosis

The Harvard Crimson :: Opinion :: Allston's Ambivalent Metamorphosis

A fairly grim outlook on the future of Allston from the Harvard Crimson:

"But there still seems something wrong with staging what amounts to a hostile takeover of a community. Ultimately, the working-class people who live there, including many recent immigrants, are no match for the sheer purchasing power of the University and its constituents. The fragile ecosystem of the Allston community will get crushed underfoot no matter how gingerly the 800-pound gorilla that is Harvard places its steps.

Just as the physical Allston, the panoply of buildings, streets, and greenery, will undoubtedly change for the better, the real Allston, the community of people and relationships, will slowly atrophy, replaced by an ever-metastasizing Harvard. Though Harvard hopes to create a synergy between the communities, they will not mix, if Cambridge is any indicator. The intruding university and the existing community are irreconcilable worlds-at different ends of the socioeconomic scale, with different priorities in life and different backgrounds. No matter how many community-friendly "cultural facilities" Harvard builds, it will be very difficult indeed to bridge that gap. "