Greater Lowell

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Greater Lowell is the name given to the city of Lowell, Massachusetts and its suburbs, mostly in Northern Middlesex County, Massachusetts and the Merrimack Valley. The towns of Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Tyngsborough, Massachusetts are usually included. Dunstable, Westford, Groton, Pepperell, Carlisle, and Wilmington, Massachusetts as well as Pelham, New Hampshire are typically included as well.

This region is approximately the Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA, with a population of 250,000 to 300,000 residents, depending on the inclusion or exclusion of towns [1][2]. Of these residents, slightly over 100,000 live in the city of Lowell itself.

Suburban sprawl and serious economic hardships have reduced the role Lowell plays in its suburbs over the decades. The entire region is often considered a component of the much larger Greater Boston area, as Lowell is only 25 miles from downtown Boston. Suburban office parks, shopping malls, and the severe decline of heavy industry in New England have pulled the economic focus away from the once great industrial and commercial base in Lowell itself. Additionally, the population of Lowell is what it was in 1900, although the suburban population is now much higher.

While Lowell may not be the economic center it once was, Lowell is still a cultural and institutional center for the region. It is home to, for example, the Tsongas Arena and the Lowell National Historical Park, which preserves the region's legacy as an early textile manufacturing center. The University of Massachusetts Lowell and a campus of Middlesex Community College are located in the city as well, as are Lowell General Hospital and Saints Medical Center, the regional hospitals. Lowell is home to both the Superior and a District Court for Northern Middlesex County and is technically a county seat, although Massachusetts counties are largely historical in function. Culturally, many residents of Greater Lowell have deep roots in the city itself, tend to be more blue collar, and speak with an urban Boston accent. Politically, Greater Lowell is notably one of the more conservative regions of the Commonwealth, credited to the region's strong resistance to taxes.[3] [4]