From Jane Jacobs to Joel Kotkin: The Effects of Ephemerality in Boston’s North End

InOctober 2016, the Pinkberry at 285 Hanover Street in Boston’s North End neighborhood was shuttered after a three year struggle to overcome the cultural clash within “Little Italy”. The landlords — former residents who now live outside the neighborhood in Stoneham — and the frozen yogurt franchise CEO had felt that the chain would have lucrative appeal to the changing demographics that included college students and young professionals. Pinkberry nevertheless had faced heated opposition from neighboring businesses and residents even before its doors opened in 2013, notwithstanding the approval of neighborhood associations that generally view restaurants and bars with disfavor. The franchise’s closure is the latest evidence of the ephemeral city phenomenon overtaking the North End. In a 2005 article for Metropolis magazine, urban theorist Joel Kotkin introduced the ephemeral city as one that has become “playpens for the idle rich, the restless young, and tourists.” He defined it as a “new kind of urban place, populated largely by nonfamilies and the nomadic rich. <a href="https://medium.com/harvard-real-estate-review/from-jane-jacobs-to-joel-kotkin-56e8a1eddcb0">Learn More</a>