Fall River can relax for now, as Brockton is named the ugliest city in Massachusetts

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Totally disagree. Fitchburg is easily the most ugly city in MA, followed by Worcester. Then its a tie between FR Lowell and Lawrence.

Brockton downtown is the most bombed out- but definitely not the ugliest city in MA.

By far its fitchburg.

I'm kind of torn on the hills and greenery surrounding Fitchburg and Worcester. I guess depending on what angle you are looking/at from, they sometimes have something to add but can also expose the ugliness even more.



Another one that should be added is Woonsocket (similar to Fitchburg) and Pawtucket (if you want to talk about "bombed out" downtowns).

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by redplum33

And yes. I didn't say the most crime ridden. I said the most depressing...and I stand by that.

That's your opinion, but I don't quite understand it. Worcester has some vibrancy, a pulse left and upward momentum. The institutions there bring in lots of professionals and young blood. Springfield is just...totally gone and nothing but hopelessness everywhere.

[Iced_Coffee]

Originally Posted by Union Thug

I'm surprised "Holyoke" gets a pass, it's the first MA city that came to mind when I heard "ugliest"

Good call. Anyone been to Pittsfield recently? It's been years since I've been and I remember it being pretty run down, but google/wiki make it seem like their downtown area at least is decent looking with some historic-looking buildings.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by massnative71

I'm kind of torn on the hills and greenery surrounding Fitchburg and Worcester. I guess depending on what angle you are looking/at from, they sometimes have something to add but can also expose the ugliness even more.



Another one that should be added is Woonsocket (similar to Fitchburg) and Pawtucket (if you want to talk about "bombed out" downtowns).

not talking about surrounding fitchburg, downtown and central Fithcburg and Woonsocket are on the same plain. Hideous, as is much of Worcester.

Pawtcuket is more empty and shallow like Brockton but not as just old hilly and zany looking as Fitchburg or Woonsocket.

Willimantic CT is another one sort of like Pawtucket/Woonsocket

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by Iced_Coffee

Good call. Anyone been to Pittsfield recently? It's been years since I've been and I remember it being pretty run down, but google/wiki make it seem like their downtown area at least is decent looking with some historic-looking buildings.

I was there in Summer 2020 during the pandemic- it was run down and a good number of vacant homes and stores but there was extensive work to the roads and light fixtures that had just been done to make it look nicer.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by Union Thug

I'm surprised "Holyoke" gets a pass, it's the first MA city that came to mind when I heard "ugliest"

Originally Posted by Iced_Coffee

Good call. Anyone been to Pittsfield recently? It's been years since I've been and I remember it being pretty run down, but google/wiki make it seem like their downtown area at least is decent looking with some historic-looking buildings.

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

I was there in Summer 2020 during the pandemic- it was run down and a good number of vacant homes and stores but there was extensive work to the roads and light fixtures that had just been done to make it look nicer.

Holyoke would be a good choice. It's a lot more blighted than most of the cities in the discussion. It actually has bigger city bones than some of the larger cities in the Eastern part of the state, but I think that makes it even look more like a down-on-its-luck rustbelt town in Update NY, Pennsylvania, or Ohio. I also would imagine that most in Eastern MA don't even think of it. It's not on the radar for most outside of the area.

I was in Pittsfield this past spring. It wouldn't make my list of most rundown cities in MA. No, it's not bustling or vibrant, but they've clearly invested some streetscape improvements (tree plantings - they looked fairly young, historic themed light posts, flags and banners on light posts, some sidewalk and street upgrades, etc). Someone passing through might believe it was a nice place to be if they didn't look too hard. And even if many of the storefronts are empty, there are relatively few empty lots and gaps where buildings once stood which is not the case in Holyoke, Fitchburg, Brockton, Lawrence, etc.

[mdovell]

Sometimes it's not a matter of being run down but also the time to get to a place that's larger. I don't think Worcester is a bad City because it's been a fair amount of development there. I would say the lowest on the list probably would be in Massachusetts Lawrence. Lawrence doesn't really have that much going on and it took a long time to get off of the State Control. It can and will ultimately change for the better but it's like turning around a cruise ship at a sharp turn you can only go so far so fast. As for Brockton I don't think it's a bad place but the trouble is is that it's surrounded by much more affluent suburbs to the point where do the population growth there's not as a reason to go there. Urban areas used to be areas where you can find more shopping in the internet killed that off. Now if a city has a waterfront that can be a big help places like Fall River in New Bedford but with Brockton they'd simply didn't invest over time. They also tend to be a bit political on things which leads to divides. A mayoral race about 15 years ago I think was down to 100 votes or less. And then there's the fact that you have three commuter rail stops that go into Boston. So you've got people that were priced out of Boston that went to Brockton but that didn't really mean that they're going to spend a lot locally. They should go back to a city manager form of government and not have a mayor. They also have a huge potential for their Park which just sits there being under utilized. Then you have to figure what are they going to do with the fairgrounds now that's been sold off to the city. Commercial real estate prices keep dropping as the interest rates stay the same if not go higher.

Brockton unlike some of the other cities in Massachusetts is not on the community preservation act so it lost a huge opportunity over the past 20 years to maintain historic properties. It's growing, but growing into what exactly.

[Lampert]

Worcester is neither ugly nor depressing.
The common is nice and the central area is not abandoned like most other Massachusetts cities outside of Boston metro.
There are nice parks in the city, lakes, leafy areas. Then restaurants, good higher education, good hospital.
In term of beautification the biggest problem is definitely the highway in the middle of the city. Public schools could improve a lot, but these aren't enough to make the city compete for ugliest in the state. By far.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Worcester is neither ugly nor depressing.
The common is nice and the central area is not abandoned like most other Massachusetts cities outside of Boston metro.
There are nice parks in the city, lakes, leafy areas. Then restaurants, good higher education, good hospital.
In term of beautification the biggest problem is definitely the highway in the middle of the city. Public schools could improve a lot, but these aren't enough to make the city compete for ugliest in the state. By far.

The bold is certainly true. But the problem with the bold is that they're mostly on the edges of town. I don't think I'd go so far as to call Worcester "ugly," but it has all of the hallmarks of an older industrial city that used to be better off than it currently is. And unlike some of the other cities mentioned, there's no central natural feature to either stand out on its own or influence the cities layout/look/feel. Lowell has its canals, Fall River has the waterfront adjacent to the city center, New Bedford has its harbor, and even Springfield has its riverfront.

But Worcester is on a better trajectory than any of those places. It's seen major private investment in the city center over the last decade or so, and is filling in some of those blighted industrial gaps with newer development bringing people and business to the city. Worcester may not be a pretty city, but I think any of the better looking cities would trade their looks for the vitality Worcester currently has and the future that it looks like it will have.

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by massnative71

I'm kind of torn on the hills and greenery surrounding Fitchburg and Worcester. I guess depending on what angle you are looking/at from, they sometimes have something to add but can also expose the ugliness even more.



Another one that should be added is Woonsocket (similar to Fitchburg) and Pawtucket (if you want to talk about "bombed out" downtowns).

My Mother was born and raised in Pawtucket.
I remember as a kid my mother and father would pile us in the car for a trip from Brockton to Pawtucket.
I don't ever remember seeing anything but emptiness in downtown Pawtucket, and that was 75 years ago.