Boston
The capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and one of the most densely urbanized areas on the eastern seaboard. It is a mix of centuries-old colonial architecture, civic and public buildings from the heyday of the United States, and expensive, high technology skyscrapers from its latter days. A vast network of elevated highways and monorails connected the city to the towns and districts beyond. Most of the city is abandoned and lies in ruins, although extensive reinforcement work, redundant draining systems, and excellent engineering prevented it from being reclaimed by the ocean, despite the near-constant fighting going on throughout the city - the city's downtown streets are fought over between various raider groups, Triggermen gangs, super mutants and Gunners. It is also home to three oases of peace: Diamond City, Bunker Hill and Goodneighbor, which also act as pillars of the region's economy.
BOSTON COMMON
Boston Common, also referred to as "the Common" and "Boston Commons", is situated south of the river in the center of downtown Boston. Several roadways converge at the common, including Boylston, Tremont, and Essex Streets. Several signs warning of danger surround the common from these approaching roadways - and for good reason. Wastelanders who approach the common without due caution rarely come back in one piece... if at all.​
DIAMOND CITY
Diamond City, also referred to as the "Great Green Jewel", is a fortified settlement in the Fens neighborhood of Boston. The settlement was built within Boston's baseball stadium, which once hosted the "swatting sultans". Its distinctive green color is visible on the tall, reinforced wall, earning the left-field wall nickname the "Green Monster." With its own police force, public school, robust agriculture and industry, and a great deal of economic influence across the region, it is by far the most prosperous settlement in the Commonwealth. Diamond City Radio is a symbol of its prosperity and might.
Despite this, it is still a shantytown contained within a baseball stadium, showing humanity's struggle for survival even still, and the difficulties involved with trying to reclaim the Boston area. As such, Diamond City also doubles as a shelter during the reclamation of Boston. The settlement established itself as a safe haven for settlers of the Commonwealth, thanks to what its residents affectionately referred to as "the Wall." Later decades saw Diamond City grow into the Commonwealth's largest and most prosperous community. It developed a degree of social stratification, as wealthier residents came to occupy properties in the settlement's exclusive upper stands. These overlooked the lower field, where those with less means took up residence.
​
In 2282, Diamond City fell prey to a surge of anti-ghoul sentiment, the results of which saw entire families thrown out of the city into the surrounding ruins to perish. Despite the eventual removal of the mayor which caused this unrest, it took the settlement time to shed old prejudices, and even 105 years on very few ghouls wish to set foot within its walls.
BUNKER HILL
After the Great War, the settlement was built around the tall Bunker Hill Monument, and acts as home to caravan traders. In the past, the Minutemen protected the settlement from the dangers of the Commonwealth, but after failing to answer a call during a raider attack, the Minutemen are no longer held in high esteem by the local traders. As a result, the residents must now pay "protection money" to the area's raider gangs to avoid being attacked, and rely mostly on mercenary protection against those who can't be bought, such as super mutants or gangs which do not honor their deals.
GOODNEIGHBOR
Goodneighbor was founded in 2240 by criminals who were exiled from Diamond City. Once a cesspit of the worst people the Wastelands had to offer, the town managed to overthrow the old bosses and rejuvenate itself somewhat, becoming a home for many of the drifters from the wastes, and hence has been populated by ghouls, criminals, and other people who do not fit in elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
However, Goodneighbor was also a hub of crime - one of the reasons for the establishment of a security team called the Neighborhood Watch under the new mayor's rule, in order to maintain order and defend the town from raiders and rival organizations. Nevertheless, even with vigilantism encouraged and the presence of the Neighborhood Watch, criminal activity is commonplace in Goodneighbor, including murder, extortion, and chem peddling.
​