BostonStudies

One of the most commonly used sub-regional geographic boundaries 'predefined' by government, especially for reporting economic data. Boston is the leading city in the county, others being, Chelsea, Winthrop, and Revere.

The 16 Planning Districts are Boston Redevelopment Authority demarcations of neighborhoods and used in planning and development activities of the city. Most of the demographic and socio-economic data for neighborhoods are presented based on this geographic frame. The composition of a planning district can be expressed in terms of census tracts and/or census block groups.

The State of Massachusetts has its territory divided into counties which in turn are divided into cities and towns, all three of which form important boundaries of communities.

Wards and Precincts form a legal geographic framework for a variety of political, tax assessment and zoning purposes.