Magazine N°149
BOSTON, AN OLD CITY OF YOUNG PEOPLE!
If it's true that it's up to young people to shake up the certainties of the world built by previous generations, to attack its rules and even its lifestyle; in short, if all this is really true, then it's safe to say that Boston is well served in this respect. After all, a third of its 650,000 inhabitants are under the age of 30. That's a huge number, and theoretically it should lead to a number of changes, if not mini revolutions.
But none of that. Boston, founded in 1636, is a very respectable and respected old lady in the United States. For a long time, the city held aloft the values of a proud WASP America, but no more. The term White Anglo Saxon Protestant, while not really an insult, has taken on a rather negative connotation. Feminism, Civil Rights and even gay marriage have all come and gone, relayed by a current of progressive thought emanating from the prestigious universities of New England, from Harvard to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The universities, in fact. Which, like the famous MIT, are contributing in one way or another to the growth of the life sciences and all that goes with it in terms of health and the pharmaceutical industry. In 2016, it's fair to say that the gamble, backed up by an unrivalled education sector, has been a success, and has led to a sharp rise in the population. As a result, property prices in the city centre have soared, giving rise to new hipster neighbourhoods such as South End and Seaport, once despised by Boston's fearsome socialites.
We're still a long way from the inventive hustle and bustle of New York's lofts, but the slightly staid atmosphere of the Boston of yesteryear is giving way to a lifestyle that reflects the spirit of the 21st century: reclaimed docklands, reinvested brownfield sites, tech and creative industries headquarters, incubators and coworking spaces... This is, of course, only the tip of the iceberg. The rest, the evolution of thinking in particular, seems to be irreversible. Boston is well aware of this, and against all the odds is abandoning its old lace at the gates of the new era.
Serge Barret, Editor-in-Chief
In this issue
Travel diary Olivier Py: "On the world stage
NEWS : aircraft, railways, hotels, meetings/businesses, throughout the world
TECHNOLOGIES from dream to reality
NOMADE - Digital shopping
AERIAL - Design reenchanting the aviation experience
HOTELS - Urban residences : the spirit of the times
BUSINESS DISTRICT Seoul Gangnam: Business with style
BUSINESS DESTINATION : BOSTON
EMERGING DESTINATION Basel, aesthetic and prosperous
INCENTIVE :
Wide Angle : Crete, a serene glass world
Theme Nancy, the spirit of the East
Chronicle Dominican Republic, the liveliest place in the Caribbean
SURVEY - Motivation food trend and gourmet incentive
MANAGEMENT
Payment methods à la carte payments
Car rental The shift to mobility
DECIDEUR Françoise Houdebine, Vice-President Sales & Marketing, Louvre Hôtels
