Tent City

Boston, Massachusetts

The name "Tent City" may be an unusual title for a thriving, mixed-use, mixed-income community in the heart of a city, but that's exactly what the folks at Goody Clancy call this development. Named after a famous 1968 sit-in in Boston, Tent City harkens back to a neighborhood in protest. Longtime residents of the area were forced out by government redevelopment projects, which ended up leaving the current site of this project vacant for 20 years. By working with various neighborhood groups, Tent City Corporation successfully redeveloped the property to now house 1,200 residents, a daycare, a community space, and retail space while only requiring a 700-car subterranean parking garage which also serves tourists in nearby Copley Place. According to Goody Clancy, "One-quarter of the units are subsidized for low-income families, one-half for moderate, and one-quarter are rented at market rates."

Tent City Boston cityscape
Tent City defines its space. Source: Goody Clancy.
Top Photo: Tent City blends right into its urban surroundings. Source: Goody Clancy.

Similar Projects


Martin Luther King Plaza #thisisCNU

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Hawthorne neighborhood in Philadelphia has come back to life—catalyzed by Martin Luther King Plaza, the redevelopment of a former high-rise public housing project.


Westside Atlanta Plan

Atlanta, Georgia

The Land Use Action Plan for Atlanta’s Westside builds on the history and tremendous potential of Atlanta’s Westside.


Sulphur Dell

Nashville, Tennessee

Just north of downtown Nashville, a 90- acre void of parking and low-rise industrial buildings separates the city’s central business district from the revitalizing Germantown neighborhood.