Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Metropolitan Boston's layers of development -- Prelude to suburbia : traditional village centers and proto-suburbs (1800-1860) -- Country retreats (1820-1920) -- Railroad suburbs (1840-1920) -- Streetcar suburbs (1870-1930) -- Metropolitan parkway suburbs (1895-1945) -- Suburban mill towns (1820-2000) -- Postwar automobile suburbs (1945-1970) -- Boston redefines the center city (1945-2010) -- Interstates, exurbs, and sprawl (1970-2010) -- Smart growth era (1990-2010) -- Postscript: the coming era -- Bibliographical references -- Index.