Affluence in Belmont for the Wall Street Journal

April 1, 2012

At the edge of Belmont’s city limits on Concord Avenue, an oval sign welcomes drivers to Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, on Thurs. Jan. 19, 2012. The sign asks drivers to “please be courteous” and “obey the traffic laws.” Belmont was an ordinary working-class town in the past, but its median wealth has increased in the past 30 years alongside drops in crime and increases in education.

Cars drive through Belmont Center in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, on Thurs. Jan. 19, 2012.

A view of houses in a neighborhood in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, on Thurs. Jan. 19, 2012.

A street sign marks the intersection of Pleasant and Prospect Streets in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, on Thurs. Jan. 19, 2012.

A view of houses in a neighborhood in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, on Thurs. Jan. 19, 2012.

Cars drive through Belmont Center in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, on Thurs. Jan. 19, 2012.

A view of houses in a neighborhood in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, on Thurs. Jan. 19, 2012.

Plymouth Congregation Church stands above Belmont Center in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA, on Thurs. Jan. 19, 2012.

A few months ago, I photographed Belmont, a suburb that grew to relative affluence after a long history as a working-class community outside of Boston. The assignment was to go to the town and find some nice houses to photograph for an article comparing the city to Fishtown, PA, a similar community that took downward trajectory after the 70s.