Tourism is up and crime is down.
Real estate development is soaring and unemployment is plunging. High tech, health care, and financial services are huge, and Boston is a major player in all three. Boston is also cool, and not just because there are cutting-edge college students all over the place. An unprecedented engineering marvel is unfolding along the waterfront, cleverly disguised as a giant construction site. The elevated expressway that slashes through downtown is moving underground, and Boston is preparing to show off.